The author, a life member of the American Association on Mental Retardation, has reflected on over 30 years of primary engagement in mental retardation and inventoried what he believes are certain changes for the better and for the worse that have occurred since the 1950s as well as certain things that have not changed. Some action implications…

Twenty predictions about the future of residential services to the mentally retarded are presented. These changes imply: (1) an entirely new model of residential services; (2) increasing continuity between residential and nonresidential services; and (3) increasing acceptance of cost-benefit rationales in the decision to offer residential or other…

The concept of ideology is discussed. An evaluation design that is based on values and ideologies is advocated so that it can be applied to services in different categories and still produce valid comparisons. (Author/AL)

Examples such as "The Others," a television program about severely retarded people, are given to emphasize the thesis that were human service providers to present their clients in more favorable and familiar ways, more citizens would accept the disabled. (MC)

This account of the life of a mentally retarded man describes his early institutionalized years, his failure to retain employment, and the impact of uncontrolled diabetes on his health. The man's death is attributed to his societal devaluation and to failure of the human services field to engage in "life-sharing." (JDD)

A personal perspective is offered on historical events in the field of mental retardation, focusing on conditions in residential institutions in Europe, Canada, and the United States and the development of educational programs. Positive developments, old problems that still exist, new problems that have arisen, and action implications are…