The expressions "idiot, you idiot, you're an idiot, don't be an idiot," and the like are generally interpreted as momentary insults. But, they are also expressions that represent an old, if unstable, history. Beginning with an examination of the early nineteenth century labeling of mental retardation as "idiocy," to what we call developmental, intellectual, or learning disabilities, Mental Retardation in America chronicles the history of mental retardation, its treatment and labeling, and its representations and ramifications within the changing economic, social, and political context of America. Mental Retardation in America includes essays with a wide range of authors who approach the problems of retardation from many differing points of view. This work is divided into five sections, each following in chronological order the major changes in the treatment of people classified as retarded. Exploring historical issues, as well as current public policy concerns, Mental Retardation in America covers topics ranging from representations of the mentally disabled as social burdens and social menaces; Freudian inspired ideas of adjustment and adaptation; the relationship between community care and institutional treatment; historical events, such as the Buck v. Bell decision, which upheld the opinion on eugenic sterilization; the evolution of the disability rights movement; and the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990.

We are most shaped by the things that we are ashamed of. Ronald Butcher Blake is The Man when it comes to high school football in 1988. With the other heroes of the undefeated Mims High School Mustangs he is one of the elite. The untouchable. That is until he takes it upon himself, while showing off for his teammates, to assault and frighten a mentally disabled boy in the hallway at school. Letting the punishment fit the crime, the principal and his coach devise an ingenious way of teaching Butcher a lesson. He wont be suspended from school or kicked off the team, provided he agrees to one stipulation. Butcher Blake will be the new bodyguard for the boy, Ethan Miles. The rest of the Mustangs, however, dont like losing their partner in crime to some retard and they do all they can to make life even harder on Butcher and his new charge. Led by Derek Skyler and his personal Goon Squad, the remaining members of the team, and even Butchers girlfriend, launch an effort to wreck the new arrangement. No longer elite and no longer untouchable, Butcher begins to see that there is more to life than just football. A realization that he fights every step of the way. Picking On Retards is a novel about the hardest lessons we learn. The ones about ourselves.

I was Diagnosis Retarded, chronicles the true story of a Mexican immigrant who defied the cultural bias of the Los Angeles Unified School District; an educational institution that branded him mentally retarded but somehow overcame becoming a statistical casualty. It outlines, the mitigating factors that altered his doom reality; to help his escape the mean streets of East L. A. and become a leading cultural warrior (treasure) in his community.

Engaging in sex, becoming parents, raising children: these are among the most personal decisions we make, and for people with mental retardation, these decisions are consistently challenged, regulated, and outlawed. This book is a comprehensive study of the American legal doctrines and social policies, past and present, that have governed procreation and parenting by persons with mental retardation. It argues persuasively that people with retardation should have legal authority to make their own decisions. Despite the progress of the normalization movement, which has moved so many people with mental retardation into the mainstream since the 1960s, negative myths about reproduction and child rearing among this population persist. Martha Field and Valerie Sanchez trace these prejudices to the eugenics movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They show how misperceptions have led to inconsistent and discriminatory outcomes when third parties seek to make birth control or parenting decisions for people with mental retardation. They also explore the effect of these decisions on those they purport to protect. Detailed, thorough, and just, their book is a sustained argument for reform of the legal practices and social policies it describes.

What is the response when a child points out that a disabled child or adult looks 'different'? Shriver tells the story of Kate, who finds that making friends with a mentally retarded boy helps her learn that the two of them have a lot in common.

The title for my novel is taken from a scripture verse out of the book of Revelation. The connection is made by relating that verse to Jeffery Lucas, the main character in The Pretender Lamb. Prior to meeting Jessica Thompson, Jeffery spends most of his early life only pretending to be what others expected of him While he was on a Fall vacation in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee, Jeffery meets and falls in love with Jessica, a school teacher from Madison, Wisconsin. A misunderstanding during the single night they stayed on the summit of Mt. Le Conte leads them into a journey of slopes and grades over the following years of their lives. The hopes and dreams of both Jeffery and Jessica are laid bare as they allow themselves to be completely open with another person for the first time in their lives. Jeffery tells of how he was raised in a small Iowa town and learned at an early age to fend for himself. Jessica tells of how fate had found her still single at thirty, but with a satisfied mind. The Pretender Lamb is a love story bursting at the seams with twists and turns. Its pages are splashed with equal amounts of humor, sadness, faith and hope. Those on both sides of the morality issue will get a chuckle from this story although they may need a good supply of tissues to dab at their tears as well. The Pretender Lamb takes a pass at explaining the experience of dejavu from a Christian point of view. Although the explanation is no more than an opinion, it should provoke some deeper thought on the subject. Anyone who has had heart problems, or known someone that has, will feel a strong tugging at their emotions as they get lost in the lives of Jeffery and Jessica. The Pretender Lamb is a story of failing health and healing, and of broken spirits and those lifted up again.

In 1922 Petey, who has cerebral palsy, is misdiagnosed as an idiot and institutionalized; 60 years later, still in the institution, he befriends a boy and shares with him the joy of life. An ALA Best Book For Young Adults for 1999.