ABSTRACT
In a thoughtful commentary on Britain's relationship with its disabled population, Ian Dury typi®es a British tradition of satire in his song `Spasticus Autisticus' (1981). He criticizes a society celebrating the year of the disabled child whilst ignoring the actuality of many disabled people, re¯exively ostracized by their local communities and denied any meaningful control over their own lives. Twenty-four years on, the sculpture of Alison Lapper, naked, pregnant and disabled, presides over the northwest corner of Trafalgar Square sparking a fresh debate on society's relationship with disability. People with learning disabilities are still having to demand recognition as people who are able to communicate their strength, survival and a `relentless need to be taken seriously' (Ritchie 1993a: 91) where those around them allow it.
