A diagnosis/treatment approach to the needs of handicapped persons has shaped the development of our human services. Consequently, the principle of normalization is scrutinized from a traditional clinical perspective and is erroneously viewed as a “people-changing” intervention which attempts to make handicapped persons “normal.” Normalization evolves from a recognition that handicapped people are perceived as deviant and become disconnected, in some or all aspects of their lives, from their communities. Therefore, according to the normalization principle, the usefulness of any human service technology (e.g., programs, staffing patterns) must be evaluated within the context of its potential for strengthening the bonds between handicapped and nonhandicapped persons.
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