The Origin and Early Development of Normalisation in Sweden: Normalisation can be seen as a key concept, both in disability research and in special education. In Sweden so far, the origin of this basic approach is connected to the time period after World War II. The purpose of this paper is to nuance this perspective. The existing Swedish historiography on normalisation, to some extent written by protagonists of the concept, will be discussed. We agree on the full effectiveness of normalisation based on a reform-oriented social policy from the 1960s. However, by means of historical research and based on hermeneutic methods, this study aims to demonstrate the concept’s origin and early development in Sweden already some decades before. For that purpose historical sources from contemporary Swedish literature and archives will be analysed. In particular the so called external schools for the feeble-minded (externatskolor för sinnesslöa) had a certain impact on the emergence and spreading of the normalisation approach. As a result of our research, and by linking it to the development of the Swedish welfare state, normalisation can be contextualised historically. This outcome is of high relevance for understanding the history of a path-breaking concept. Finally, and with regard to the future, the question of adaptability and modernity of normalisation arises.