Normalizing Services for Children with Special Needs

Dissatisfaction with residential programs and the influence of the normalization principle have led to the development of many community-based programs for mentally retarded, emotionally disturbed and delinquent youths. Unfortunately, these programs have not generally been much more effective than their residential counterparts in preparing their children for worthwile and productive lives in the community. In this paper, six areas are discussed as important for successful community programs and proposed as targets for future prevention, education and treatment efforts. These include the family, sexuality, leisure activities, social and interpersonal skills, specific suggestions for both prevention and remediation efforts are discussed.