Author: Louis Rowitz Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 1461391156 Category : Psychology Languages : en Pages : 495
Book Description
When you look at the advances in the field of mental retardation over the past 30 years, it is hard to imagine that more change is inevitable. Yet, I think back to the time when, early in his presidency, President Kennedy called together the brightest scientists, researchers, doctors, and educators to develop a comprehensive plan for the nation to effectively care for, treat, educate, and house persons with mental retardation. In the early 1960s the call for new research into the causes and the amelioration of mental retardation, the development of community-based programs, and the development of family care for appropriate education, vocational training, and jobs were seen as revolutionary. But, in the 30 years since then, we have seen time and time again that it is persons with mental retardation themselves who have led the way. When the schools were opened to them, they learned more than any one ever thought possible; when vocational training was provided, they learned skills that led to jobs; when employment became available, they proved to be good steady workers who earned money and paid taxes. When the playing fields were made available to them through programs such as Special Olympics, they showed the world they could train and compete and WIN in the sports of the Olympics. When communities welcomed them, they became our neighbors. They have earned the right to play on any field, to study in any school, to hold a paying job, and to be anyone's neighbor.
Author: Stanley C. Plog Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 1461591287 Category : Psychology Languages : en Pages : 294
Book Description
The future is exciting-frightening-and demanding! As social and eco nomic change accelerates at an ever-increasing rate, we look with awe and wonder at the way in which unanticipated events impact on our lives and change the way we live. We are also frightened about how well we will adapt to the demands of a world that may be structured quite differently from the familiar environment of today. If we are to handle our own futures with some degree of skill and adap tiveness, we need to begin planning today for the dawn of the next century. Otherwise, we may find that events have overrun our capacity to cope. Those of us in the social and helping sectors of the economy have a responsibility for the future welfare of persons who are less able to look out for their own needs or to protect themselves from the vagaries of economic fluctuations or major dislocations in the social fabric of the land. The President's Committee on Mental Retardation is proud of its deci sion to look at the year 2000 and its impact on the mentally retarded. Our goals were straightforward-to understand how unfolding events can affect the lives of the mentally retarded, for good or ill, a generation from now.
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Publisher: National Academies Press ISBN: 0309376882 Category : Medical Languages : en Pages : 397
Book Description
Children living in poverty are more likely to have mental health problems, and their conditions are more likely to be severe. Of the approximately 1.3 million children who were recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits in 2013, about 50% were disabled primarily due to a mental disorder. An increase in the number of children who are recipients of SSI benefits due to mental disorders has been observed through several decades of the program beginning in 1985 and continuing through 2010. Nevertheless, less than 1% of children in the United States are recipients of SSI disability benefits for a mental disorder. At the request of the Social Security Administration, Mental Disorders and Disability Among Low-Income Children compares national trends in the number of children with mental disorders with the trends in the number of children receiving benefits from the SSI program, and describes the possible factors that may contribute to any differences between the two groups. This report provides an overview of the current status of the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, and the levels of impairment in the U.S. population under age 18. The report focuses on 6 mental disorders, chosen due to their prevalence and the severity of disability attributed to those disorders within the SSI disability program: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, learning disabilities, and mood disorders. While this report is not a comprehensive discussion of these disorders, Mental Disorders and Disability Among Low-Income Children provides the best currently available information regarding demographics, diagnosis, treatment, and expectations for the disorder time course - both the natural course and under treatment.
Author: Edward Shorter Publisher: Temple University Press ISBN: 9781566397827 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 282
Book Description
According to Edward Shorter, just forty years ago the institutions housing people with mental retardation (MR) had become a national scandal. The mentally retarded who lived at home were largely isolated and a source of family shame. Although some social stigma still attaches to the people with developmental disabilities (a range of conditions including what until recently was called mental retardation), they now actively participate in our society and are entitled by law to educational, social, and medical services. The immense improvement in their daily lives and life chances came about in no small part because affected families mobilized for change but also because the Kennedy family made mental retardation its single great cause. Long a generous benefactor of MR-related organizations, Joseph P. Kennedy made MR the special charitable interest of the family foundation he set up in the 1950s. Although he gave all of his children official roles, he involved his daughter Eunice in performing its actual work--identifying appropriate recipients of awards and organizing the foundation's activities. With unique access to family and foundation papers, Shorter brings to light the Kennedy family's strong commitment to public service, showing that Rose and Joe taught their children by precept and example that their wealth and status obligated them to perform good works. Their parents expected each of them to apply their considerable energies to making a difference. Eunice Kennedy Shriver took up that charge and focused her organizational and rhetorical talents on putting MR on the federal policy agenda. As a sister of the President of the United States, she had access to the most powerful people in the country and drew their attention to the desperate situation of families affected by mental retardation. Her efforts made an enormous difference, resulting in unprecedented public attention to MR and new approaches to coordinating medical and social services. Along with her husband, R. Sargent Shriver, she made the Special Olympics a international, annual event in order to encourage people with mental retardation to develop their skills and discover the joy of achievement. She emerges from these pages as a remarkable and dedicated advocate for people with developmental disabilities. Shorter's account of mental retardation presents an unfamiliar view of the Kennedy family and adds a significant chapter to the history of disability in this country. Author note: Edward Shorter is a Professor at the University of Toronto where he holds the Hannah Chair in the History of Medicine. He is the author of A History of Psychiatry from the Era of the Asylum to the Age of Prozac, as well as many other books in the fields of history and medicine.
Author: National Research Council Publisher: National Academies Press ISBN: 0309083230 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 351
Book Description
Current estimates suggest that between one and three percent of people living in the United States will receive a diagnosis of mental retardation. Mental retardation, a condition characterized by deficits in intellectual capabilities and adaptive behavior, can be particularly hard to diagnose in the mild range of the disability. The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) provides income support and medical benefits to individuals with cognitive limitations who experience significant problems in their ability to perform work and may therefore be in need of governmental support. Addressing the concern that SSA's current procedures are consistent with current scientific and professional practices, this book evaluates the process used by SSA to determine eligibility for these benefits. It examines the adequacy of the SSA definition of mental retardation and its current procedures for assessing intellectual capabilities, discusses adaptive behavior and its assessment, advises on ways to combine intellectual and adaptive assessment to provide a complete profile of an individual's capabilities, and clarifies ways to differentiate mental retardation from other conditions.
Author: Institute of Medicine Publisher: National Academies Press ISBN: 0309170931 Category : Medical Languages : en Pages : 458
Book Description
Brain disordersâ€"neurological, psychiatric, and developmentalâ€"now affect at least 250 million people in the developing world, and this number is expected to rise as life expectancy increases. Yet public and private health systems in developing countries have paid relatively little attention to brain disorders. The negative attitudes, prejudice, and stigma that often surround many of these disorders have contributed to this neglect. Lacking proper diagnosis and treatment, millions of individual lives are lost to disability and death. Such conditions exact both personal and economic costs on families, communities, and nations. The report describes the causes and risk factors associated with brain disorders. It focuses on six representative brain disorders that are prevalent in developing countries: developmental disabilities, epilepsy, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and stroke. The report makes detailed recommendations of ways to reduce the toll exacted by these six disorders. In broader strokes, the report also proposes six major strategies toward reducing the overall burden of brain disorders in the developing world.
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, and Health, Education, and Welfare, and Related Agencies Publisher: ISBN: Category : United States Languages : en Pages : 1650
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, and Health, Education, and Welfare, and Related Agencies Publisher: ISBN: Category : United States Languages : en Pages : 1684
Author: Louis Rowitz
Author: Stanley C. Plog
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Author: Edward Shorter
Author: National Research Council
Author: R. C. Scheerenberger
Author: Institute of Medicine
Author: United States. President's Committee on Mental Retardation
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, and Health, Education, and Welfare, and Related Agencies
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, and Health, Education, and Welfare, and Related Agencies