The assessment of competence in families with a retarded child.

60 families with retarded children were divided into 3 groups, based on age of the retarded child (6–8, 12–24, and 18–21 yrs). The families were observed by trained raters and compared with nonclinical families without handicapped children. Family reports from 45-min interviews were collected regarding feelings about the family's adaptation to the child and available support systems. Results indicate that most families were functioning well overall, despite speculations in older clinical literature about chronic family dysfunction. The older the retarded child, the more competent the family pattern; families with retarded children aged 6–8 yrs (school-entry age) and male retarded children were more dysfunctional. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of adaptive behavior in institutionalized mentally retarded children and adults: developmental perspective

Factor analyses were performed utilizing the subscale scores of the AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scale, Part One, for 3,354 institutionalized mentally retarded children and adults. Eight different age groups were studied to determine (a) the underlying dimensions of adaptive behavior measured by the scale, (b) similarity of factor structure across ages, (c) whether there were developmental changes revealed by factor scores, and (d) the extent to which the above findings would be related to level of retardation. Three salient factorial dimensions--Personal Self-Sufficiency, Community Self-Sufficiency, and Personal-Social Responsibility--appeared across a wide span of age ranges from childhood through senility. The implication of these factors was discussed in terms of the critical period of development, rate of growth, and maximum level of growth of subjects grouped by level of retardation.     

Beta-mercaptolactate cysteine disulphiduria in a mentally retarded Scottish male

Antenatal diagnosis of hereditary disease is highly dependent on sufficient theoretical knowledge and on a number of practical methods of studying the foetus such as obtaining, cultivating and assaying amniotic fluid cells. Knowledge of the primary defect in any monogenic disorder cannon be used in prenatal diagnosis unless the metabolic error is expressed in vitro. Modern cytogenetics can diagnose in utero a large majority of karyotyping abnormalities although the karyotype-phenotype correlation is not an absolute one. This task must be assigned to special laboratories where technical pitfalls are reliably avoided. In both metabolic and chromosomal hereditary disease, the pathologist can confirm and extend the phenotypic findings and improve knowledge on foetal features and physiopathology. Pathology is the more important, the less means of in utero diagnosis are available as in the non-chromosomal syndromes of localized or multiple malformations. Here it helps eliminating a present major drawback of prenatal diagnosis: the lack of a strict diagnosis in the previous patient in a family at risk.     

Rehabilitation of the institutionalized mentally retarded.

"In order to determine the present status of psychology in state institutions, a questionnaire was sent to 101 institutions in the United States and Canada… . Replies were received from 72% of the total sent. Thirteen reported that they have no psychologists… . The 72 institutions which replied have 109,010 patients served by 143 full-time and 14 part-time psychologists—approximately 725 patients per psychologist." In general, the functions of psychologists in these institutions are very similar. The "role of the department of psychology, as with other services in an institution, should not be as an autonomous unit with separate function, but as an integral part of a patient-centered team." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Release from proactive interference in short-term memory in mentally retarded persons

The possibility of employing a mixed suspension of isolated liver cells from several rats for estimation of some quantitative characters commonly used in cytological investigations was studied. It is demonstrated that the disaggregation rate of liver in different animals varies slightly, and the mean values of the parametres studied (the proportion of dividing and binucleated cell) obtained from individual animals coincides well with those of the mixed suspension.     

Teaching the mentally retarded job interviewing skills.

Examined the most effective usage of videotape in job interview skill training for 24 mentally retarded young adults utilizing the microcounseling model of instruction. Seven (e.g., open- and closed-ended questions and reflection of content) skill areas were modeled to 3 experimental groups for 6 sessions where the method of videotape utilization differed for each group. Data reveal that the microcounseling model is most effective with the 2 skill areas of eye contact and body posture regardless of the method of videotape utilization. Significant differences occurred in both of these skill areas after modeling Session 2 and remained significant throughout the study. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Auditory localization skills in mentally retarded children.

Measured the gross auditory and visual localization skills of 24 6–18 yr old mentally retarded Ss. Half of the Ss were selected randomly from a group of residents who had demonstrated visual discrimination skills and auditory speech discrimination skills. The other Ss were selected randomly from a group of residents who demonstrated visual discrimination skills but not auditory speech discrimination. Findings indicate that all Ss who previously demonstrated auditory speech discrimination passed the auditory localization task, and all Ss who previously failed to demonstrate auditory speech discrimination failed the auditory localization task. It is suggested that auditory localization skills may be used as an approximation to the development of auditory speech discrimination skills. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The oral status in mentally retarded institutionalized patients

BACKGROUND AND METHODS: An epidemiological survey of dental and periodontal health status was conducted in a group of 263 institutionalized mentally retarded patients. RESULTS: The periodontal status in the study population was very poor. 66% of the subjects presented with a probing depth more than 3.5 mm (PSR = 3 or 4), 29% showed the presence of bleeding or calculus (PSR = 1 or 2) and only 5% showed a normal periodontal status (PSR = 0). No statistical relationship was found between periodontal status and age, sex, type or duration of psychiatric therapy. Concerning the dental status a total of 59 (26%) subjects was totally edentulous. A significant increase in the prevalence of edentulousness with increasing age was recorded. The incidence of edentulousness was higher among women than among men, while it was not significantly influenced by the type of psychiatric pathology, type or duration of psychiatric therapy. The mean number of remaining teeth in every subject was 12.9 +/- 9; the mean number of sound teeth was 10.8 +/- 8 and the mean number of decayed teeth was 2.1 +/- 3. The number of decayed teeth decreased with increasing age and it was influenced by the type of psychiatric pathology, but not by the type or duration of psychiatric pathology. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of the results showed a very poor dental but especially periodontal status in mentally retarded subjects as compared to those found in studies performed in normal subjects.