Downs ─ The History of Disabiltiy

Down's syndrome has become the most recognizable form of mental disability, and is one of the world's most common chromosomal disorders. Identified by John Langdon-Down in a series of lectures in 1866, it is a condition characterized by distinct facial anomalies, disability in intellectual development, and physical stigmata. It wasn't until 1959, when French paediatrician and geneticist Jerome Lejeune identified the disorder as arising from an extra copy of chromosome 21, that it became more commonly known as Down's syndrome.

David Wright examines both the fascinating scientific story of its discovery as well as its changing social history, using examples from medieval Europe to the present day. He examines the institutionalization of those considered 'mentally retarded' in state asylums, the eugenics movement, and the sterilization of the 'mentally unfit'. The discovery of the genetic basis of the condition profoundly changed attitudes and care, and allowed early identification with prenatal testing. Medical advances have coincided with changing social and political contexts, causing a move from institutions to care in the community. By the end of the twentieth century individuals with Down's syndrome, and the ethical debates that surrounded them, had finally moved into the mainstream.

Editorial Advisor William Bynum is Professor Emeritus, University College London.

Editorial Advisor, Helen Bynum is a freelancer historian and author. More

David Wright is Canada Research Chair at the Institute for Health & Social Policy and Professor of History at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. A historian by training, he specializes in the history of medicine and disability. He is the author and co-editor of eight books on the history of mental health and psychiatry, including a volume on the history of mental disability (with Anne Digby, eds.).