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A social history research project which attempts to document the lives of people with intellectual disability in Western Australia. The book also describes the institutional, social, political and professional history that has framed service policy and management in W.A. and set the direction for services. The history is confined to public sector programmes, the law, and professional involvement. It is argued that societal devaluation shapes society's management of people with disability. The Editors note that there are areas they have not been able to include such as the history of special education, employment and the Commonwealth's role in development. The last chapter, titled "Discourses of Disability", deals with the relationship between language, knowledge and power in constructing 'difference'. Keywords: Theory, Professionals. Searchwords: Social change, Attitudes