Pastoral Relationship with People with Intellectual ... - Theses

216impactful behaviours can be well remembered. These stories really meansomething to the storytellers.Following the telling of a story, the conversation may continue aroundseemingly more mundane matters but with little alteration in tone of voice oremotional content. Physical abuse appears to be regarded in a similar light toroutine matters. It’s all normal.For a number of these institutionalised people who have lived here sincechildhood, they came to know and experience no other way of human behaviourand, since those days, they seemingly haven’t had such behaviours challenged.For much of their lives, the institution alone has been their sole frame-ofreferencein terms of relationships, rituals and behaviours. Therefore,... it’s normal to be hit by a staff member.... it’s normal to be called ‘stupid’.... it’s normal to not be invited to family funerals and weddings, and... it’s normal to have someone only relate to you because they’re paid todo so.Normal as in … OK… the way life is… acceptable.And who is present to challenge that sense of normality, both that withpast and present frames-of-reference?I speak of past and present abuse, neglect and standardisedinstitutionalised routine, to make the point that despite changing times, evolvinginstitutional and wider community philosophies and values, oppression, invarious guises, has been and continues to be imposed upon people withintellectual disability who live in institutions. 565 Whether it’s past physical abuse,565 Tumeinski, Marc. "Adopting a Personalist Response within Impersonal ServiceStructures." Paper presented at the Many Faces of Abuse conference, Auckland, NewZealand , 2005.Here, the author describes institutional abuse in the health care service delivery sectoremanating from bureaucratisation, the prioritisation of systemic values, and an inequity ofpower between senior management and service workers.Regarding institutional modes of abuse, see also,McKnight, The Careless Society, and,Wolfensberger, Wolf. A Brief Introduction to Social Role Valorisation as a High-OrderConcept for Structuring Human Services. (Syracuse: Syracuse University, 1991).