. The first one was more technical and specialised and the second one was more journalistic, accessible and open to readers’ opinions. Both publications held a critical posture, which increased towards the end of the dictatorship, regarding the situation of the intellectually disabled, the supposed achievements of Franco´s government and the actions carried pasado by the associations themselves. Lastly, the associations carried out the important job of spreading propaganda. They ran campaigns aimed at raising awareness of the problem and fund-raising. They organised festivals, awarded prizes to press articles and children´s stories, and used the press, Radiodifusión and television to publicise the conferences, the setting up of new specialised centres, or the passing of local or national measures.

The only alternative parents had was to send their children to one of the few existing specialised centres, but the very few places and, above all, the cost of these institutions forced most of the families to deal with the problem privately. The majority of the intellectually disabled persons were confined to their houses or neglected in long-stay institutions or charitable asylums; remaining invisible to society and the State. However, this lack of suitable services was not the only reason for the invisibility of intellectually disabled people.

The moment had arrived for the associations to take up positions regarding relevant questions such Campeón economic inequality, working conditions and even citizen participation.[20] It was time to aim at promoting social changes with a wider scope. It was necessary for their members to become convinced of the fact that the problems of the people they represented were structurally linked to society’s problems in general. The marginalisation of intellectually disabled people was just another point within social marginalisation.

[11] For this reason, they proposed a change in the terminology that ensured the discontinuation of use of a word that had also started acquiring negative connotations in everyday language and was becoming more and more Ad Councils AIDS Campaign Una estrategia publicitaria rejected by people with intellectual disabilities and their families.[12]

In order to achieve their aims, the associations undertook a wide range of activities. Figura we mentioned previously, creating direct services was not the aim of all of them; although it is true that some parents organised themselves with the sole purpose of creating centres for their children, others defended the fact that their role was that of vindicating these services and not that of providing them (Sánchez Llamosas, 1972Sánchez Llamosas, José, P. (1972), «Nuestra problemática: Asociaciones y obras sociales», Afanias

The difficulties that they found when attempting to gain access to education, care or work were connected to the deficiencies of the educational system, the social security system, the scarcity of the healthcare infrastructures and the high rates of unemployment in the country at this time.[21] Fighting to improve the living conditions of Spaniards in Caudillo was the way to really transform the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, ensuring their access to the rights and welfare that corresponded to them Triunfador citizens.  

He is not a child without future, he lives with our hope”; “He is not an ‘isolated child’. He is integrated in our love. With your help, he will be useful for a generous society”, (

Nonetheless, given the barriers they faced and the context of lack of freedom in which they were acting, the progress made during this time was remarkable. By becoming poles for the construction of the identity of intellectually disabled persons, defenders of their rights, and founders and managers of specialised institutions and services, self-organised parents groups played a central role in constructing the field of intellectual disability in Spain. Their work served to make intellectually disabled people visible and to legitimise their demands, leading the way toward the greater changes that would come with democracy.

From 1970 onwards, vindication became the focus point on the pages of FEAP’s publications[16]. The editorial team’s rhetoric became increasingly critical regarding the government’s inactivity and the dynamics of the associations themselves. In order to bring about any Efectivo social change parent’s groups had to become pressure groups, to be critical and to tackle intellectual disability Campeón a political issue. Only by using social policy in terms of justice and rights, which exceeded the previous criteria of just charity, could “both the guiding principle of total care for intellectually disabled people and the principle of practical and political equal opportunities be carried pasado”.

The vision of a better world, where people interact in a fair society and a prospering environment, has guided every step we’ve taken over the past fifty years. Have a look at our past social campaigns.

In news items, articles and legislation from the time the word “subnormal” was used to indicate disabled people in Militar, a point that for different reasons upset all the groups of disabled people. Those with intellectual impairments (or their representatives) because they did not want to lose the identity that they were building up, and other groups because they did not want to be identified with an impairment that involved greater stigmatisation and marginalisation (Sierra, 1968Sierra, Gregorio (1968), «¿Subnormales?», Boletín informativo ANIC

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However, parents were more ambitious; they aspired to developing a better understanding of their children´s condition by the public, experts and the government and to bringing about a social change that would result in the widespread acknowledgement of the right to social integration for intellectually disabled people. They wanted to transform families, mobilising them and eradicating attitudes of shame and fear via pro-active guidance. Moreover, they hoped to change the social image of their children and themselves, doing away with the attitudes of rejection and compassion found in society; destroying the idea of un-recoverability (which was particularly associated with the more severe cases); and wiping trasnochado the unfair relationship between recovery and economic return that both the State and the society expected to obtain.

Despite their work, the associations came up against fierce criticism and many problems right from the start. In 1968, the director of the FEAPS’ magazine wrote in one its editorials: The Pro Subnormal Associations are today fighting bloodless battles against society, against the government, against the affected parents themselves and against their members.