Non-consensual sterilization is one of the characteristic historical abuses that took place mainly in the first half of the 20th century. People with intellectual disability (ID) were a prime target as part of the ideology of negative eugenics. In certain jurisdictions, laws were in force for several decades that permitted sterilization without…

Research on individuals severely affected by autism, including those who are minimally verbal, have intellectual disability or challenging behaviors, has become less common. The Autism Inpatient Collection (AIC) was initiated so data on this group is available to the research community. Ten studies utilizing phenotypic data from the first 350 AIC…

An individual's neurodevelopmental and cognitive sequelae to negative early experiences may, in part, be explained by genetic susceptibility. We examined whether extreme differences in the early caregiving environment, defined as exposure to severe psychosocial deprivation associated with institutional care compared to normative rearing,…

Throughout this monograph, there has been frequent reference to levels of risk, inference of causation, testing for mediating variables, and the need to consider possible moderating influences. In this chapter, the authors review what is meant by these concepts, and then seek to pull together the findings from the English and Romanian Adoptee…

The first Innocence Project (IP) was founded in 1992 by attorneys Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. The original goal was to free people whose innocence could be proven using DNA. So far, IPs have helped free nearly 300 men and women who had served an average of 13 years for crimes they…

This chapter covers the methods and measures used in the ERA study, with a special focus on age 15 outcomes. First, the authors outline the sample participation rate for the 15-year follow-up--the percentages in all cases referring to the numbers at the time of initial sample contact. They then describe the measures used in this monograph,…

In this monograph, the authors have brought the findings of the English and Romanian Adoptee (ERA) study up to age 15 years and, in so doing, have focused especially on the question of whether there are deprivation-specific psychological patterns (DSPs) that differ meaningfully from other forms of psychopathology. For this purpose, their main…

The cytogenetic survey of 67 individuals previously identified as having mental retardation and autistic behaviors revealed only 1.5 percent with the fragile X chromosome. The finding suggests that most persons with fragile X syndrome do not have autistic behaviors severe enough to be identified as a secondary psychiatric diagnosis. (Author/DB)

Evaluation of the cognitive, behavioral, and adaptive functioning of 12 retarded men with fragile X syndrome indicated that fragile X men were largely indistinguishable from comparison groups. They were, however, significantly more likely to have achieved levels of adaptive functioning commensurate with their intellectual abilities. (Author/DB)

Presented is the case history of a severely mentally retarded patient with a 49, XXXXY chromosome pattern. (DB)

Fifty-eight people (ages 2 to 66) receiving residential or other services for idiopathic mental retardation were evaluated for evidence of metabolic disease. Five (8%) demonstrated symptoms pointing to specific genetic metabolic defects, suggesting the need for evaluation of other similar populations with idiopathic mental retardation. (Author/DB)

"The Kallikak Family" is a pre-eminent text in the history of mental retardation and psychology in which Goddard (1912) claimed he proved the heritability of feeble-mindedness and the necessity of institutionalization. The book contains 14 photographs, some of which have been retouched. These photographs were interpreted in this paper within the…

The incidence of recurrent mongolism was analyzed among, 2,331 mongol propositi (and their 6,225 sibs) in 34 British institutions and daycare centers. (BB)

A collection of writings by 17 authors, the text includes the following discussions: general principles of diagnosis and management of mental retardation, neurologic evaluation of the infant and child, psychological evaluation, educational information, and treatment of pseudoretardation, communicative disorders, and metabolic and endocrine causes.…