National Effort to Prevent Mental Retardation and Related Developmental Disability, 1993

摘要

The President's Committee on Mental Retardation (PCMR) Conference in February, 1991, 'Summit on the National Effort to Prevent Mental Retardation and Related Disabilities,' was the programmatic highlight of the Committee's 25th Anniversary in 1991. The selection of the topic of prevention for this jubilee event was exceedingly fitting, inasmuch as the PCMR has through this quarter century been a continuing voice for the potential of prevention and its humanistic implications. The Committee has been unique in its devotion to bringing together the nation's diverse agencies, centers, and spokespersons concerned with prevention of mental retardation and developmental disabilities. Ten plenary speakers on the topical aspects of prevention provided a richness of experience and commitment. For the purposes of this Annual Report, material has been excerpted from their presentations dealing specifically with aspirations for the future of the field. Taken in the sum these notes offer substantial hope, while also speaking of a requirement for enhanced resolve. When added to the recommendations developed by the conference work groups it becomes clear that there is much to be done.