A dictionary definition of maladjusted ‘A maladjusted person, usually a child, has been raised in a way that does not prepare them well for the demands of life, which often leads to problems with behavior in the future’.
Having been wrongly identified as maladjusted in the past, I feel I have earned the right to state that in my opinion that word has no real place in the English language – or certainly should never be used by clinicians or mental health workers. This is a nonsense word that fails to describe adequately as both a noun and a verb.
I think sometimes it is seen as a term rather than a word that may be used as an instrument, to label. As a child, I was labelled as maladjusted and in doing so the local education authority were then able to deal with me in such a way that would have been difficult to have done otherwise. Their decision making process apart from being wrong, was criminal and badly flawed.
Hindsight – It is easy for me to look back at my early days now and analyse what had actually happened. My historic investigation indicated that as a child, I reacted badly to the home environment and as an intelligent boy, it would appear that the 2 schools that I attended in Margate had failed to challenge me, academically. A paediatric psychologist had reported that I was ‘normal’ and in communications to the Educational Department at Springfield, Maidstone suggested that I would undoubtedly come to more harm, by being kept in the home environment. I had been excluded from the local schools by then. By using the label ‘maladjusted’, I was removed from my home by the County Council and sent 277 miles away to a residential school for disturbed and maladjusted children (as the paperwork reflects). An interesting note here was after 5 years at that school, I was transferred to their sister school, still 133.7 miles away from home and told that I was going their because I was highly intelligent.
The reality of the expert’s decision back then in 1969, was I would not effectively be returned to the home environment, until they reached the age of 16 years (1980) (post compulsory educational age). The decade I spent away saw me thrust into the hands of a paedophile ring, who were operating in the independent residential school system in the UK during the 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s.
This is a process that still is operated in the UK today sadly. Incredibly, with all the historical investigations into institutional child sexual abuse, you would think that the authorities have understood the inherent dangers of this system. Residential schooling itself is abusive and I would highly recommend anyone with an interest in this subject to read – Joy Schaverien (Boarding School Syndrome) file:///C:/Users/Lee/Downloads/LostforwordsTTApr11.pdf
Another disgusting use of the word maladjusted featured in a Crown Court Trial over the past couple of years, where I was appearing as a witness in an historic child sexual abuse trial. The accused being a former teacher/carer from my residential school days. The barrister defending the former teacher, openly accused me of lying (which was to be expected) but then he also suggested that it was no wonder that I had to be treated firmly by the carers, as I was after all maladjusted. His comments were hurtful, harmful and completely inaccurate.
I would place the word Maladjusted into Room 101, if I had the opportunity of appearing on that show.
No more Secrets 
that one bird might be dead, hanging like that, but point well taken!
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