Mental Retardation: Some Recent Developments in the Study of Causes and Social Effects of This Problem

By: Brian H. Kirman

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Synopsis: Mental Retardation summarizes some developments in the study of the causes and social effects of mental retardation. The problem of definition and recognition is emphasized, along with its relationship to frequency and to the changes that have occurred in the natural history and prevalence of mental handicap in general and of some of its specific constituent disorders in particular. This book covers a wide range of topics related to mental retardation, from its prevalence and causes to prevention and treatment; chemical disorders and other enzyme defects; the effect of a hypothetical restriction of child-bearing age on trisomic chromosome disorders; and recessive heredity and Mendelian inheritance. Prominence is given to habilitation in the prevention of secondary handicap and to the importance of minimizing cultural retardation. Genetic disorders and their detection are also discussed, along with the link between cerebral palsy and mental retardation; the correlation between blood groups and mental retardation; and congenital malformations such as hydrocephalus, spina bifida, and anencephaly. This monograph will be a valuable resource for physicians and other health professionals in the field of mental retardation, as well as students of the social sciences, education and medicine and by others who wish to have a simple guide to a complex and common form of human impairment.