A Longitudinal Study of Active Treatment of Adaptive Skills of Individuals with Profound Mental Retardation

A longitudinal study indicated that a single group of adults living in a large state institution (O'Berry Center in Goldsboro, North Carolina) benefited from receiving active treatment, although no control group was permitted. After five years, 59 individuals with profound mental retardation improved their skills in six general areas of dressing, grooming, eating, toileting, communication, and social interaction. After five more years of active treatment, 51 persons who had remained in the program maintained their skills in dressing, grooming, eating, and communication. Significant improvement in the use of toilet and a loss in social interaction were observed. Although the participants were 10 years older at the end of this study, their adaptive behaviors, in comparison to the date of entry, either improved or were maintained. Therefore, aging was not associated with decline in skills

Activities of daily living · Adaptive behavior · Developmental psychology · Longitudinal study · Psychiatry · Social skills · Toilet · Toileting · Autism Spectrum Disorder Research · Behavioral and Psychological Studies · Clinical Psychology · Down syndrome and intellectual disability research · Medicine · Psychology

• Functional Analysis of Challenging Behavior in People with Severe Intellectual Disabilities

  Open Access•Cándida Delgado Casas, C Delgado-Casas et al.•Psychological Reports•2014

  Add to list

• The cloak of competence

  Robert B Edgerton•The cloak of competence•1993

  Add to list