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History

15 Australians went to the  first conference of the International Group for the Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency in Copenhagen in 1964. After the meeting they  formed the first Australian organisation of professionals in the field of developmental disability.  

This group was called the  Australian Group for the Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency (AGSOMD).The group had 41 founding members, and held their first conference and general meeting in Melbourne, in October 1965.

The organisation grew quickly, with membership increasing to 278 in 1970, with members in every state of Australia as well as in New Zealand.

In 1969, the AGSOMD newsletter became  the AGSOMD Bulletin. In 1970 it became the   Australian Journal of Mental Retardation. In 1982 it became the Australia and New Zealand Journal of Developmental Disabilities .

Now it is called the Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability. It is  one of the leading journals in the field.  In 1986 the organisation became the Australian Society for the Study of Intellectual Disability (ASSID) A quarterly magazine ‘Intellectual Disability Australasia (IDA)  was started.

In 2002, a history of ASSID was undertaken by Gaye Sheather of the University of Newcastle. View a copy of this thesis – CLICK HERE

 

In 2010, the Australian Society for the Study of Intellectual Disability (ASSID) changed its name to the Australasian Society for Intellectual disability(ASID).  We did this for two reasons

  • To make sure people with intellectual disability are part of the organisation. Research needs to be for people with intellectual disability.
  • We needed to become Australasian and include New Zealand.  

You can read more. See Olive Webb’s chapter from her book,
From Behind Closed Doors: My journey alongside people with intellectual disabilities – CLICK HERE