A New Researchproject

The American Association of Mental Retardation discussed the naming Mental Retardation for a long time and decided that this naming is inappropriate, therefore changing the name to Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities - IDD.
The association also recently changed its name to the American Association On Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) .
In this new definition we can find the new way of thinking about creating the best possible help for a group of very different people.

When a person cannot react in a way we would like him to react (because it fits in our logical thinking), how can we translate or learn to see what this person really experiences?
Evidence-based measures can help us as well as evidence-based interventions given, as long as we base this on desired goals.

Nowadays the medical care is highly improving. Prenatal, natal, postnatal guidance are in better quality than ever. Medical and educational care are constantly improving and financial systems are maintained so that every living person can receive the best care needed.
Consequence is that people get older. And more people having mental retardation will live a longer life. A lot of thinking is done about the aspect if a longer life will lead to better quality of life. With the changing situation also treatments are changing, taking consideration of the dimension of aging in therapy.

Mostly people with mental retardation are classified according to their level of cognitive and adaptive impairment. Nowadays a tendency is seen to divide these people by their needs for environmental supports (AAMR, 1992).

Important will be to know how effective interventions are that are based on knowing these needs. When utilizing characteristic (behavioural) profiles we could develop an instrument to detect needs in people that we think they might improve when given the right therapy available.
With known signals to observe, it should be possible to develop targeted, evidence-based effective interventions.

Research aiming for improvement of aspects of the communication process is most important. Communication is one of the essential contributors in quality of life.
In new research we aim for improvement in hearing and listening, leading to a better possibility for auditory processing and speech perception, and improvement of speech and speech production, leading to better intelligibility and understanding.

Improvements we are searching for are those who lead to a better quality of life by changing conditions needed for optimal communication and taking a look at the possibility for keeping the improvements in communication on a certain level, for example by interventions and repeated assessment and implementing all possible help permanently.
A new researchproject on this subject started a year ago, in the Netherlands.
When you would like to hear more about this researchproject or information related to this researchfield, please leave a message.

Written by M. Coppens