Service Providers Understanding of the Concept of Normalization

Abstract

In a mail questionnaire survey, service providers working with persons with intellectual handicap were asked to describe the concept of normalization in their own words. They were further asked to indicate their attitude toward a number of service issues related to the normalization concept The results indicate that 61 percent of service providers successfully described normalization in terms of definitions developed by Nirje and Wotfensberger. A quarter of respondents described the concept incorrectly. Fifty-three percent of service providers considered that the adoption of the normalization concept to guide the provision of services was “highly desirable”. Policy implications of these results are discussed.