The paper describes ways in which tools, or aids, can promote the interaction of mentally retarded persons with their environment. A classification of these aids is proposed according to psychological characteristics (such as senses, intelligence, knowledge, decision making, and action) as well as types of interaction (such as comprehension,…

This booklet is intended to help teachers and prospective teachers of mentally retarded students to understand the ways in which intellect affects the understanding of reality. Its recommendations are based on G. Kylen's theory of the intellect and J. Piaget's theory of intellectual development. The initial section describes the function and…

Examines the question of whether environmental factors restrict only the capacity to perform the type of tasks schools require, or if they inhibit the general capacity to learn. (NH)

Describes a study showing that mentally retarded children and mentally normal children do not differ fundamentally in cognitive development within the framework of a particular cognitive training. (Text is in French.) (AM)

A brief review of these tests is provided, and it is concluded that the procedures possess a number of characteristics that make the evaluation of change in intelligence a tenuous proposition. (Author)

THIS BIBLIOGRAPHY LISTS MATERIAL ON VARIOUS ASPECTS OF HUMAN INTELLECT. APPROXIMATELY 50 UNANNOTATED REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED TO DOCUMENTS DATING FROM 1955 TO 1966. BOOKS, REPORTS, JOURNAL MATERIALS, AND SOME UNPUBLISHED TITLES ARE LISTED. SUBJECT AREAS INCLUDED ARE (1) INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT, (2) ABILITY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS, RACES,…

The article reviews the cognitive behavioral approaches to the training of intelligence in the mentally retarded. A proposed structure of intelligent behavior is presented that serves as the basis for classifying the intended foci of the various training programs. Selected training programs are reviewed in terms of this classification. The…

IT IS PROPOSED THAT MENTAL RETARDATION IS NOT NECESSARILY CAUSED BY A GENETIC FACTOR OR BY BRAIN INJURY, BUT MAY BE CAUSED BY THE CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH CHILDREN ARE RAISED. WHEN CHILDREN ARE LEFT IN PSYCHOSOCIALLY DEPRIVED HOMES, THEIR RATE OF DEVELOPMENT WILL TEND TO DECLINE. IF, AT AN EARLY AGE, THEY ARE PLACED IN A SCHOOL FOR A FEW…

The development of formal operations in normal adolescents is briefly examined, and a discussion of the development of exceptional adolescents focuses on the following exceptionalities: retardation, blindness, deafness, and giftedness. Some directions for future research are considered. (DLS)

The Language Acquisition Device, or LAD, is related to reading and intellectual development in the first of five papers on cognitive and affective characteristics of exceptional children. A discussion of the intellectual processes involved in learning focuses on the developmental stages of Piaget. A report on a task force to discuss terminology…

THE MAJOR PURPOSE OF THIS RESEARCH WAS TO DETERMINE WHETHER TRAINING IN SPECIFIC COGNITIVE PROCESSES IS EFFECTIVE IN INCREASING THE COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING OF RETARDED CHILDREN. IN PHASE I OF THE PROJECT, 51 EDUCABLE RETARDED AND 18 NORMAL SUBJECTS RECEIVED A 20-DAY PROGRAM IN SIMILARITIES-DIFFERENCES CONCEPT FORMATION AND WERE COMPARED WITH 42…