The stories I could tell you from my time as a caregiver for adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities...
::: TW: neglect, abuse, SA
Here is a link to a lawsuit against Clover Bottom Mental Hospital, which was one of these institutions. The lawsuit happened in 1993. This was not that long ago.
"At the defendant state institutions, plaintiffs spend their days waiting out the hours. They sprawl in ill-fitting wheelchairs or carts. They are parked in dayrooms or hallways unattended, or are left alone in their rooms. Many plaintiffs languish in hospital beds or cribs, with no stimulation except when they are changed or fed. Others are left in wheelchairs, unattended for hours, with no stimulation or human contact available to them."
"Plaintiffs' basic care needs are ignored; they are left alone for hours. Clover Bottom residents in diapers are often wet, their clothes soaked through with urine."
"Defendants have failed to protect residents of the institutions from physical abuse and neglect."
"Verbal abuse is widespread. Staff at Clover Bottom use abrupt, verbal commands to communicate with residents; often, they scream at them."
There is so much more, and so much worse. The thing is, some of these folks are still alive, and still members of our community, and they still have the evidence of this ongoing trauma writ large. The current system isn't ideal. There's never enough care, and the people who are providing care are often under-trained and under-paid and over-worked. But at least it's better than this.
ETA: I had to come back and add: I left out all the sexual abuse. There was... a lot. There's evidence. It's mentioned in that lawsuit but there are stories I can't bring myself to tell. :::
Woah. Soulism is actually pretty cool.
...I only read a quick description just now for the first time so if I'm about to stumble into some insanity, don't spoil it for me.