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7
or illiterate. The number of retarded who
responsibility for adequate care of the retarded,
could not participate in the war effort was
but the extent of the responsibility of the re-
even greater. In many instances, illiteracy
tarded individual himself, as, for example,
and mental retardation are indistinguishable.
when he gets into trouble with the law. For
a long time we chose to turn away from
Every year 126,000 babies are born who
these problems. The standard treatment con-
will be mentally retarded. Neither the rich
sisted of commitment to institutions, segrega-
nor the poor, the urban dweller or the farmer,
tion from society, and silence about the af-
the captain of industry or the manual laborer,
fliction.
or any other part of our society is exempt
from the threat. It is a national problem
In this vast reservoir of children and adults
and it requires a national solution.
who need various degrees of assistance to en-
able them to adjust to the demands of our
There are no reliable estimates of the cost
complex society, we have a largely unused re-
to each family for the care of the mentally
source. As society becomes more complex,
retarded. Community costs of the 4 percent
the problems will of necessity increase both in
confined to institutions total approximately
size and in seriousness.
$300 million annually. The other 96 percent
live in private homes. The financial strain
It is just as important to integrate the men-
of providing for them represents a staggering
tally retarded within our modern society and
burden to each family that has this responsi-
make full use of their abilities as it is to
bility.
make a special effort to do this for the physi-
cally handicapped. The grim struggle for
But the financial hardships are not the most
survival does not allow us the luxury of wast-
serious aspect of the problem. It is the emo-
ing our human resources.
tional strain, the problems of adjustment,
training, schooling and vocation-the attempt
to make possible a full life for the child, that
Present Programs
represents the major impact of retardation.
Some forms of mental retardation can be
Our goal should be to prevent retardation.
prevented; in others the degree of incapacity
Failing this, we must provide for the retarded
can be reduced; and in still others it may be
the same opportunity for full social develop-
possible to obtain a completely satisfactory
ment that is the birthright of every American
adjustment. Steps taken thus far have con-
child.
centrated upon improvements in environment
In addition to research, the current prob-
and understanding. These are important and
lems are those of diagnosis, evaluation, care,
should be expanded. But real improvement
appropriate training and education, family
will require a major effort along new lines.
guidance, the need for sympathetic environ-
Prior to 1950 relatively little attention was
ment, a lack of public understanding and a
directed to the problem of mental retardation
dearth of private and public facilities. There
by either the Federal or State governments
are difficult issues involving not only our social
or, in fact, by private groups. During the
4
5
Document source description
Pamphlet titled, "A National Plan to Combat Mental Retardation," containing a statement by President John F. Kennedy on mental retardation and announcing the formation of the President's Panel on Mental Retardation.
Page data
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- Source index
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- Type
- photo
- Media ID
- 320c221c37d28799
- Size
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Document data
- ID
- 6050318
- Core
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- Type
- document
DTO data
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Context sent to Scholar
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Page context
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"ocrText": "7\nor illiterate. The number of retarded who\nresponsibility for adequate care of the retarded,\ncould not participate in the war effort was\nbut the extent of the responsibility of the re-\neven greater. In many instances, illiteracy\ntarded individual himself, as, for example,\nand mental retardation are indistinguishable.\nwhen he gets into trouble with the law. For\na long time we chose to turn away from\nEvery year 126,000 babies are born who\nthese problems. The standard treatment con-\nwill be mentally retarded. Neither the rich\nsisted of commitment to institutions, segrega-\nnor the poor, the urban dweller or the farmer,\ntion from society, and silence about the af-\nthe captain of industry or the manual laborer,\nfliction.\nor any other part of our society is exempt\nfrom the threat. It is a national problem\nIn this vast reservoir of children and adults\nand it requires a national solution.\nwho need various degrees of assistance to en-\nable them to adjust to the demands of our\nThere are no reliable estimates of the cost\ncomplex society, we have a largely unused re-\nto each family for the care of the mentally\nsource. As society becomes more complex,\nretarded. Community costs of the 4 percent\nthe problems will of necessity increase both in\nconfined to institutions total approximately\nsize and in seriousness.\n$300 million annually. The other 96 percent\nlive in private homes. The financial strain\nIt is just as important to integrate the men-\nof providing for them represents a staggering\ntally retarded within our modern society and\nburden to each family that has this responsi-\nmake full use of their abilities as it is to\nbility.\nmake a special effort to do this for the physi-\ncally handicapped. The grim struggle for\nBut the financial hardships are not the most\nsurvival does not allow us the luxury of wast-\nserious aspect of the problem. It is the emo-\ning our human resources.\ntional strain, the problems of adjustment,\ntraining, schooling and vocation-the attempt\nto make possible a full life for the child, that\nPresent Programs\nrepresents the major impact of retardation.\nSome forms of mental retardation can be\nOur goal should be to prevent retardation.\nprevented; in others the degree of incapacity\nFailing this, we must provide for the retarded\ncan be reduced; and in still others it may be\nthe same opportunity for full social develop-\npossible to obtain a completely satisfactory\nment that is the birthright of every American\nadjustment. Steps taken thus far have con-\nchild.\ncentrated upon improvements in environment\nIn addition to research, the current prob-\nand understanding. These are important and\nlems are those of diagnosis, evaluation, care,\nshould be expanded. But real improvement\nappropriate training and education, family\nwill require a major effort along new lines.\nguidance, the need for sympathetic environ-\nPrior to 1950 relatively little attention was\nment, a lack of public understanding and a\ndirected to the problem of mental retardation\ndearth of private and public facilities. There\nby either the Federal or State governments\nare difficult issues involving not only our social\nor, in fact, by private groups. During the\n4\n5"
}