Program Design for Students with Mental Retardation

Abstract

The Board of Directors of the Division on Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (MRDD) have approved a position statement on program design for students with mental retardation. The position holds that programs for students with mental retardation, including placement decisions and curricular choices, should be determined based on the individual needs of students and not by philosophical considerations. While more and more students with mental retardation are appropriately being integrated into regular classroom settings and provided access to the regular curriculum, some students may need continued specialized programs such as community-based instruction and functional curricula. The position of the Board is simply that students' need drive programs, not philosophy or other concerns. Programs that are appropriate for individual students should be the goal of special educators, not the implementation of a philosophical orientation that might not result in appropriate services for some students.

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