The most important outcomes for students with mild mental retardation are successful employment, development of independence, the acquisition of life skills, and successful involvement within the school and community. Models now exist for supported work initiatives, empowerment and self-determination, life skills (i.e., a comprehensive concept of adult adjustment), and the achievement of inclusion within functional curricular programs. Inhibitors that have impacted successful outcomes include a variety of factors within the community, absence of supports throughout adulthood and continued reliance on non-functional curricula. Implementation of outcome-oriented programs and services would be enhanced by targeting research and model programs funding for students classified as mildly retarded, modifying data reporting procedures, increasing commitment to appropriate curricular alternatives at the secondary level, assuring that quality transition planning takes place, adopting the concept of supported education as central to inclusion, and stressing periodic follow-up after exiting school programs.
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