(e.g.. what 51% of one's neighbors do or what experts feel is best): it does not mean that mentally handicapped persons are expected to be made normal or to act like other people.Normalization means the acceptance of persons with their handicap within normal society, with the same rights, responsibilities, and opportunities as are available to others. Collaboration is at best a successful result of normalization. Schools have a social strata and students are part of that. Acceptance of the mentally retarded with their handicap is important to that social structure just as other students are. Although Lucy participates only three hours per week, she gains invaluable social skills, learns an internal locus of control and exhibits self-determining behavior. In that three hours, Lucy receives what no text book, adult teacher or lesson itself provides her: being accepted into a group without regard for her handicap....
