An international authority on disability issues, Bengt Nirje of Sweden visited Minnesota state hospitals in 1967 before meeting with Governor Harold LeVander.
Nirje preached the "normalization principle," already successful in Scandinavia. This principle urged that people with developmental disabilities receive the same level of housing, schooling, and medical care provided for all other people.
Calling some Minnesota hospital conditions "horrible," "inhumane," and "impersonal," Nirje observed that he had witnessed "new means of degrading people" during his visits.
Swedish expert Bengt Nirje found Minnesota institutions "horrible" and "inhumane."