This study investigated the possibility that high levels of direct support in supported employment programs are associated with less typicalness, integration, and wages. The study found that wage and integration outcomes can be increased, even if there is a high level of direct support, if there is coworker training. (Contains references.)…

The President of the American Association on Mental Retardation offers a newly realistic approach to mental retardation, requiring honest assessment of the impact of mental retardation, full rights for people with mental retardation, public policies to enhance integration, and awareness of sources of peril to the lives and freedom of people with…

Factors affecting the stability of social relationships between 14 community members and 1 or more individuals with mental retardation were assessed. The community members had previously served as staff members to the clients, were willing to overcome logistical barriers to being friends, and perceived reciprocal social support from the…

A study examined the attitudes of 88 girls (ages 10-12) without disabilities, parents, and coaches toward the inclusion of a child with a disability in a regular fast-pitch softball league. Players and parents had a favorable attitude toward inclusion and modifying game rules. Coaches were undecided about inclusion and rule modifications.…

Discusses Margaret Mead's insights on mental retardation. Her study of intelligence scores of Italian children, which analyzed correlations between test performance, language, immigration date, and social status, is used to indicate recognition of the multicultural complexities of mental retardation. Her belief in social integration is also…

The feasibility of an intensified integrated camping experience for three children with and five children without severe disabilities was evaluated, as was the impact of integrated programing on camp staff attitudes. Following the two-week program, disabled children demonstrated improvements in targeted skills, nondisabled campers increased their…

Sheltered workshops are asserted to be failing to provide mentally retarded clients with appropriate work experiences because of low wage rates, unavailability of work, changing industrial forecasts for blue collar employment, financial dependence, tax returns, segregation, and normalization issues. (Author/DB)

This commentary refutes use of segregation and institutionalization as a legitimate lifestyle strategy for individuals with mental retardation. It contends that advocates of this strategy have never justified its use with valid research and calls for integration that is carefully parsed into its various expressions, the highest form being valued…

Twenty-four special and regular education fifth-grade students participated in a dramatic games group or noncompetitive games group. Results showed that students with mental retardation in the drama condition were targeted for positive social interactions by regular education peers more and were more highly regarded as friends than were those in…

The mother of a young adult with autism suggests ways that religious communities, especially their family's Jewish community, can help in the transition of young people with developmental disabilities to adulthood. She urges inclusion in religious schools, provision of workshops and support systems for young adults and their families, and…

A man with a developmental disability discusses the self-advocacy movement, the cruelty of stigmatizing labels such as "mentally retarded," and the need for greater involvement in professional organizations such as the American Association on Mental Retardation. He proposes a joint conference with a self-advocacy organization. (DB)

This article maintains that "social role valorization" is not an adequate reformulation and replacement for the principle of normalization in services for people with mental retardation. The term "social valorization," in which the person and role are valued, is offered as a possibly more coherent replacement for the term…

This paper reports results of a qualitative study of the workplace experiences of eight young adults with developmental disabilities. Four characteristics of supportive workplaces were identified: (1) multiple context relationships; (2) specific social opportunities; (3) a personal and team-building management style; and (4) interdependent job…

This study investigated the use of "natural supports" in the workplace in tandem with supported employment services for employees with severe disabilities. Analysis of data from 462 people in eight states on how "typical" the individual's employment setting was found that incorporating "typical" employment features in workplaces was associated…

A woman with a developmental disability discusses self-advocacy, the need for self-advocates to be involved in professional organizations, and the need for professionals and society at large to be more inclusive in their attitudes and behaviors. (DB)