IMPACT OF INTERVENTION ON THE PARENTAL PERCEPTIONS AND EXPECTATIONS OF THEIR MENTALLY-RETARDED CHILDREN

The impact of professional intervention on the perceptions and expectations of their mentally retarded children was studied in one hundred parents. From among ten major perceptions, significant changes were noted in the areas regarding poor brain development as a cause for the condition (P < .01), and the possibility of improvement in child with training. Out of 14 different expectations, significant changes were noted in the areas of total cure, need for special education and speech development, where the number asking for the former reduced (P < .01) and those expecting training for the latter increased (P < .01, P < .05). The results are discussed with a focus on the importance of the parental perceptions and expectations in the training of mentally retarded persons.