Thirty adults who had no experience with mental retardation rated slides of residential settings as to their "home-likeness." Of 26 features of living rooms studied, furniture position, lighting type, and lighting flexibility were highly correlated with home-likeness, whereas building code-specific features and seating type were minimally related…

This paper examines the issues of deinstitutionalization and mainstreaming from a historical perspective, focusing on the changes over time in views and practices toward retarded individuals and the role of science in the mental retardation field. The parallel development of residential programs and special education programs for individuals with…