Out of the Shadows - The Legacy of Pineland Logo

What’s In a Name?

The labels we use – whether for things or people – are important and reveal much about our assumptions. The institution known as Pineland went through several names, depending on how those in charge thought about its purpose at the time. The people that lived at Pineland were also labeled – sometimes by their place in the institution, sometimes by the current understanding of their diagnosis, and sometimes from assumptions about their “usefulness” to society.

Here are some of the names used for both institution and people over the last two centuries.

The Institution

1908 – Maine School for the Feeble Minded 

1925 – Pownal State School

1957 – Pineland Hospital and Training Center

1973 – Pineland Center

1980 – Pineland: A Comprehensive Center for the Developmentally Disabled

Those being served 

Inmate 

Patient 

Client

Resident

“Condition” of those being served  

Feeble minded 

Defective

Idiot

Imbecile

Moron

Backward

Unfortunates

Incurable

Trainable

Educable

Mentally deficient

Mentally retarded

Intellectually challenged

Developmentally disabled

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