We proposed a taxonomy of advocate development in the field of developmental disabilities detived from the systematic evaluation of a Partnets in Policymaking program. Three developmental stages evolved: beginner, involved, and activist. Self-reports of advocacy actions and outcomes were collected from 3 participants with disabilities and 21 parents before and during training. A follow-up, semi...

A diagnosis of mental retardation carries with it certain unique treatment needs that must be understood and addressed. Unfortunately, most psychiatrists are ill-equipped to handle this situation, having received little or no formal training in this area. This article is written with the specific goal of giving psychiatrists a better understanding of the special needs of patients with mental re...

OBJECTIVE This paper describes recent advances in the neurobiology of mental retardation, emphasizing new diagnostic resources provided by cytogenetics, molecular testing, and neuroimaging. SOURCES OF DATA MEDLINE (January 2000 through October 2003), using the following key words: mental retardation, developmental disability, child, and adolescent. Search of the Pediatrics and New England Jou...

OBJECTIVE This study investigated the relationship between mental retardation and lifetime events in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). METHODS The data on mental retardation and ages of lifetime events (first walking, loss of ambulation, introductions of ventilator support and tube nutrition and death) were collected retrospectively, and the relationships between the factors we...

To the Congress of the United States: It is my intention to send shortly to the Congress a message pertaining to this Nation's most urgent needs in the area of health improvement. But two health problems—because they are of such critical size and tragic impact, and because their susceptibility to public action is so much greater than the attention they have received-are deserving of a wholly ne...

the hereditary ataxias are a group of genetically defined neurological diseases which are characterized by heterogeneous clinical presentations. ataxia is defined as imbalance and lack of coordination. mental retardation associated with ataxia has been reported in some of the known and recently identified syndromes. in this review, we describe some known and novel genes that cause familial ment...

sjogren-larsson syndrome (sls) is an inherited autosomal recessive neurocutaneous disorder with congenital ichthyosis, spastic diplegia or quadriplegia and mental retardation. we report a case of sjogren-larsson syndrome with clinical profile (mental retardation, ichthyosis, spastic diplegia) and mri findings such as seen in multiple sclerosis (ms). so this rare syndrome can be another differen...

Non-syndromic mental retardation is one of the most serious neurodevelopmental disorders, which has a serious impact not only on the affected individuals and their families but also on the health care system and society. Previously research has been more focused on the X-linked mental retardation and only recently studies have shown that non-syndromic autosomal recessive mental retardation is e...