Mental Retardation: Educational and Treatment Settings

As educational efforts at this time, there is a strong desire among mental retardation educators to mainstream as many special needs students as possible (e.g., move them into regular classrooms as much as is practical). Only about 8 percent of mentally retarded students attend regular schools. The majority of mentally retarded students attend schools for children with special needs; a minority are home schooled.

There are real advantages to be had by mainstreaming mentally retarded children into regular schools where they can interact with non-disabled peers. Among these advantages is the opportunity to better socialize retarded students. Students who have disorders such as Prader-Willie syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, and Down syndrome can be very social with an excellent capability for social imitation. These students truly benefit from being included in a classroom with children who are developing normally.

Still other mentally retarded students gain an opportunity to excel in a mainstream classroom. Fragile X syndrome students, for example, often achieve greater academic success than would be expected from their IQ score. Teachers can help Fragile X children learn in a mainstreamed environment by keeping their classrooms well-organized. Visual aids are very useful in helping special needs students understand information. These students can learn a lot from their peers.

Community-Based Services

Educational services are only a part of the range of services available to mentally retarded individuals in many American communities. Community-based treatment and services began to be developed shortly after the passage of the 1966 Mental Health and Mental Retardation Act. Over the intervening years, treatment of the mentally retarded has expanded from institutions to a multi-faceted system of family and community interventions designed for each unique case. Some of the facets included in community based treatment programs include early intervention, vocational training (in collaboration with schools or employers), physical, occupational, and speech therapies, community housing, day programs, and residential care. Additionally, case managers are assigned to monitor the training, therapy, and educational strategies provided as part of each individual's care.

Public schools are not considered a facet of community-based treatments under the 1966 act. Instead, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act outlines responsibilities of the schools. However, mentally retarded students' case managers serve as the liaison between school and family. The case managers are also responsible for coordinating community-based treatment including physical, occupational, and speech therapies that may be utilized.