'Out of the darkness into the light': a life-story from Ireland

Abstract

This article recounts the life-story of one man who was 'diagnosed' as intellectually disabled in the early 1960s. It details the time he spent in a special residential school in the Irish Republic after acquiring this label and outlines the bullying and abuse he experienced. It includes his struggle as an adult to come to terms with his intellectually disabled status and the trauma of his early life. It outlines how he transformed these experiences into the advocacy and research work he is now involved in, which includes supporting organisations to adopt rights-based approaches to the issue of bullying, abuse and maltreatment of people with intellectual disability within service and community settings. Bill's life-story is part of a larger writing project he is undertaking which includes a portfolio of poetry, personal writing and social commentary.