Abstract

In October 1967 Sydney was the venue for the Annual Conference of The Australian Group for the Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency, the theme being “Preparing the Mentally Retarded for Adult Life”. A small group of students under the supervision of Mary McLelland1 of Sydney University undertook a pilot study of the problems of the adolescent retarded, and the results of this were reported by her at a session of the conference. The subject was chosen because of direct and indirect pleas for help from parents of adolescent retarded people, mainly through the organization known as Aid Retarded Persons. Discussions and talks had taken place over a couple of years, and it is of this pre-conference thinking I am now writing. Parts of the material were given in talks to the parents and to a special group of the A.M.A.