At the time, the major impact of these concepts was to redefine the role of the institution. The institution came to be seen as only one of several resources, and appropriate for only some people.
The conditions in institutions came to be seen as fundamentally dehumanizing. The debate about for whom institutions are appropriate would continue for decades.
Bengt Nirje (2001 photo)
Top Photo: Gunnar Dybwad and Niels Erik Bank-Mikkelsen
Bottom Photo: Bengt Nirje, Robert Perske,
Wolf Wolfensberger, G. Allan Roehrer
Photos courtesy William Bronston, M.D.