Parallel stigma? Nurses and people with learning disabilities

Summary The present paper discusses the history of learning disability nursing in the context of its development within the nursing profession and its relationship with people with learning disabilities. The study provides a brief sketch of the development of learning disability nursing as a discrete branch of the nursing profession before exploring its history in the light of theories of marginalization and stigma. Although the present author recognizes the profound differences between the history of people with learning disabilities and those paid to care for them, he seeks to establish some common ground on the basis of parallel stigma.