Deinstitutionalization of retarded persons is questioned on conceptual, scientific, and moral grounds. (Author)

The sister and parents of a 12-year-old child institutionalized for brain damage disagree regarding the care of the child. Differences stem from the parents' negativity due to the lack of services available when the child was born v the sister's more optimistic attitude which resulted from hearing of new programs without experiencing the defeat…

The Assessment Program Tool is a method of evaluating instructional programs in institutions for the retarded. (DB)

A survey was conducted of all 343 residents placed in the community from a large facility for mentally retarded persons, with social work intervention, over a 14-year period. (Author/IM)

The author presents an historical review of normalization and institutionalization of the retarded in the United States. (SBH)

Examined whether physical restraints are related to decreased social behavior among nursing home residents. Data collected from 112 nursing home residents suggest that low social performance puts resident at risk of being restrained, but more frequently use of restraint hampers resident's performance of social behavior. (Author/NB)

Reviews research which has clarified the needs and problems of adolescents in secure units and has highlighted the relationship between provision offered in child care, penal, and health services. Discusses new research findings, particularly those arising out of studies of young people (n=104) in two youth treatment centers. (Author/ABL)

Psychiatric hospital developed empirically conceived group reminiscence program to evoke use of communication skills by geriatric residents. Goals were to tap into memories of period before patients' onset of dysfunctional mental illness and to prompt positive feelings during guided discussions, thereby allowing for more frequent, appropriate…

The study found that, in a representative sample of large-city newspapers, three issues were most frequently featured in coverage of persons with disabilities. They were: (1) budget, expenditures, or taxes, (2) housing or normalization, and (3) treatment in institutions. (Author/DB)

Presents some sociohistorical concepts about suicide as framework for considering contemporary attitudes among elderly. Includes verbatim report of group therapy session in long-term care facility in which residents openly discuss their feelings about suicide of fellow resident a day earlier. Illustrates importance of emotional outlet, such as…

Discusses the Swedish experience in which the official old-age care policy has been to substitute home care for institutional care. Found some substitution of the two forms of long-term care which took place from 1965-75, but thereafter the use of long-term care institutions and home care remained stable or contracted. (Author/ABL)

Describes Wanderer's Lounge, program developed by one nursing home to provide activities to benefit Alzheimer's victims and at the same time provide respite for more alert residents and staff on their units. The program and its benefits are discussed. (Author)

The article examines current opinions toward euthanasia of persons with mental retardation in light of the history of public and professional attitudes. It also discusses the rejection of euthanasia on moral and religious grounds, and notes the use of lifelong incarceration, based on eugenics principles, to accomplish similar ends. (DB)

Studied homeless mentally ill patients who had been released into the community. Discusses mentally ill clients' rights to self-determination versus immediate survival needs and the potential mental restoration that could be provided through commitment to a psychiatric hospital. Presents two case studies. (Author/ABL)