Applied Research in Mental Retardation, Vol. 6, pp. 185-198, 1985 0270-3092/85 $3.00+ .1130 Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. Copyright ~(~ 1985 Pergamon Press Ltd.

Barbadian Children's Understanding of Mental Retardation

Monica A. Payne

University of the West Indies

Barbadian children's understanding o f the nature and causes o f mental retarda- tion, and o f the characteristics o f mentally retarded children, was investigated using a questionnaire previously employed in the United States by Siperstein and Bak (1980). Subjects were 199 10 to l l-year-olds f rom four elementary schools in Bar- bados. Results indicated that many Barbadian children, like their American counter- parts, confused retardation with orthopedic disabilities and, to a lesser extent, men- tal illness. A higher proportion o f Barbadian children than o f American children thought mental retardation was caused by post-natal factors such as childhood accidents, illnesses, parental maltreatment, and drug-taking. Equal proportions o f boys and girls mentioned causes associated with the pregnant mother, although girls identified a greater variety o f such factors. Pupils generally demonstrated a fairly high degree o f empathy with the needs and feelings o f mentally retarded peers, and recent public awareness campaigns appear to have had a definite impact upon results.

The past decade has seen major legislative change in the United States regard- ing education of the disabled, prompting an increase of research interest in the public's knowledge of, and attitudes toward, the mentally retarded (and other disabled groups). Inasmuch as events in North America frequently have an impact on policy decisions in the Caribbean region, educators in the West Indies must also pay attention to these issues. The aspect to be examined in the present study is children's understanding of the nature of mental retar- dation, and their attitudes toward retarded peers.

In this general area of attitudinal research, there is some evidence that out- comes may be in part a function of the type of procedure employed (e.g., Jaffe, 1966; Peterson, 1974), which in turn may be linked to whether attitudes are being tapped in a fairly "abstract" manner or in relation to actual known,

Correspondence may be addressed to: Monica A. Payne, PhD, School of Education, University of the West Indies, P.O. Box 64, Bridgetown, Barbados.

185

186 Monica A. Payne

mentally retarded individuals (Semmel, Gottlieb, & Robinson, 1979). None- theless, the majority of studies involving school children suggest that non- retarded pupils frequently have initially negative attitudes toward their handi- capped classmates, and that interaction, even if friendly, tends to be minimal (e.g., Hegarty, 1982b; Iano, Ayers, Heller, McGettigan, & Walker, 1974; Siperstein & Gottlieb, 1977). Furthermore, continuing contact appears to do little to reduce this negativity (Strauch, 1970) and may even reinforce it (Gott- lieb & Budoff, 1973; Gottlieb, Cohen & Goldstein, 1974). Jaffe (1966) re- ported that, although adolescents who had contact with mentally retarded children assigned a greater number of favorable traits to them than did adolescents without such contact, contact was not significantly related to greater acceptance of retarded peers.

Although Coleman (1983) has suggested that the self-image of mildly men- tally retarded children seems to depend more on fairly overt social com- parisons with immediate peers than on the attributions and perceptions of teachers and other pupils, the latter remain potentially significant factors in determining the mentally retarded child's general academic and social adjust- ment. Voeltz (1980, 1982) has proposed that the non-mentally retarded pupil's negativity may stem from feelings of not knowing how to initiate or main- tain relationships with a mentally retarded peer, and most researchers conclude that mentally retarded children are unlikely to participate fully in main- streamed classes unless all pupils are adequately prepared, through appro- priate social skills training, for the experience of integration (e.g., Beardsley, 1982; Donaldson, 1980; Handlers & Austin, 1980; Horne, 1982a, 1982b; Johnson & Johnson, 1981; Madden & Slavin, 1983; Simpson, 1980).

However, as Budoff, Siperstein and Conant (1979) emphasize, it is also necessary to know what children understand about mental retardation in order to be able to correctly interpret their expressed attitudes; and intervention studies suggest that desirable attitudinal or behavioral changes are most likely to occur when children are provided with information about the nature of conditions that cause handicaps, in addition to interpersonal skills training. In this context, informed use of labels referring to handicap may not always have as severely negative an effect as has been assumed. Budoff and Siper- stein (1978), for example, reported that non-mentally retarded children re- sponded more positively to descriptions of labeled noncompetent peers than to those of children for whom there was no apparent "explanation" for their incompetence. To date, most studies exploring the nature and extent of children's knowledge of mental retardation have been conducted in the United States (e.g., Budoff et al., 1979; Conant & Budoff, 1983; Siperstein & Bak, 1980), although McConkey, McCormack, and Naughton (1983) have recently reported findings of a nationwide survey of secondary school students in Ireland. The present study was undertaken to obtain data from yet another cultural setting, that of the Eastern Caribbean.

Children's Understanding of Mental Retardation 187

With reference to the fairly recent past, the social and educational posi- tion of mentally retarded persons in the Caribbean has differed somewhat from that in North America or Europe in that, as in many other developing regions, they have tended to receive both less social ostracism and less educa- tion. Existing facilities for the moderately or severely mentally retarded have been essentially custodial. The mildly handicapped, too, have rarely been singled out for special educational assistance; being left to struggle in the lowest streams of regular schools, if indeed they were sent to school at all. Traditionally, Caribbean parents have tended to be ashamed of their men- tally handicapped children and reluctant to be conspicuously identified with them through involvement with special education programs (Miller, 1983). Thus it was possible, when concerned persons formed the Barbados Associa- tion for Mentally Retarded Children in 1963, for it to be initially reported that no mentally retarded children could be found (Thorburn, 1970). A subse- quent "search" uncovered six such children (from a national population of almost a quarter of a million). At the first Caribbean Conference on Mental Retardation in 1970 it was accepted that approximately 3°7o of the popula- tion of any regional territory will be classifiable as mentally retarded and in need of some form of special educational attention (Thorburn, 1970).

Barbados was selected for the present study for reasons of convenience, and because it has one of the most developed educational systems in the Eastern Caribbean, with full-time schooling being compulsory from age 5 to 16 years. Barbados has the highest proportion of teachers with some form of professional training. Currently, there are several state-run residential or day institutions, in addition to a few private centers, catering to the educa- tional and other needs of all levels of mentally retarded children and adoles- cents, as well as those with specific learning disabilities. However, the govern- ment appears to espouse a mainstreaming philosophy for the mildly mentally retarded, a policy which may well be influenced not only by pedagogical beliefs but also by other salient factors such as economic constraints and the relative lack of parental agitation for special education. A number of mildly mentally retarded children, therefore, are to be found in regular schools; although there is little in the way of material facilities or trained personnel to offer them specialized assistance within this system, even though schools are typically quite rigidly streamed according to ability/achievement (elemen- tary education continuing to culminate in the highly selective Common En- trance or "11 + " examination).

Spurred on by the United Nations recently declared "Year of the Disabled," the Barbados government has also undertaken to try and increase public awareness of, and sensitivity to, the needs of all disabled groups, through presentation of local and imported radio and television programs as well as projects such as the annual staging of local Special Olympics. This study represents an exploratory investigation of the impact of these efforts, insofar

188 Monica A. Payne

as they may have influenced the knowledge of, and attitudes toward, mental retardation demonstrated by Barbadian elementary school children.

METHOD

Subjects

A total of 203 pupils from four public elementary schools in Barbados par- ticipated in the study. All children were in their sixth year of formal school- ing, and were 10 and 11 years of age at the time of testing. The four schools were all co-educational, and situated in urban lower-middle and working class localities. The "A" stream final year class in each school was selected, since teachers thought that some children in other streams might experience dif- ficulties with the questionnaire. Even so, four completed questionnaires had to be discarded due to illegibility, giving a final sample of 199, 114 boys and 85 girls.

Instrument

A short questionnaire described by Siperstein and Bak (1980) was con- sidered suitable for the present study, and was used with permission. It com- prises eight items, two requiring a yes/no response and the remainder being open-ended requests for information and opinions. Items tapped pupils' understanding of the term "mentally retarded," their knowledge of any causes and means of preventing mental retardation, and their views on how men- tally retarded children look and feel.

Procedure

The questionnaire was administered to children under normal classroom conditions at their schools. Sessions were supervised by the class teachers, who followed instructions provided by the researcher. Questionnaires were completed anonymously, with pupils asked only to indicate their age and sex. Data were collected during the final weeks of the school term in June 1983.

RESULTS

Results are presented as follows: first, an analysis of the data for the sample as a whole, and second, a comparison of the responses of girls and boys. For the purpose of cross-cultural comparison, presentation of data incorporates direct reference, when possible and appropriate, to the findings of Siperstein and Bak (1980) using the same questionnaire.

Children's Understanding of Mental Retardation 189

Results for the Whole Sample and Cross-national Comparisons

Question 1 asked, " I f a boy or girl is called mentally retarded, what does that mean to you?" Responses could be satisfactorily classified using the Siperstein and Bak categories indicated in Table 1, which also presents their data f rom 315 fourth to sixth graders.

Barbadian children were rather less likely than their American counter- parts to mention learning characteristics, but correspondingly more likely to refer to physical features: for example, "It means they look different f rom us" or "It means they cannot walk or use their body." Data included seven (3.5°7o) unclassifiable responses which were similar to the 7°70 noted by Siper- stein and Bak (1980) as commenting on the unfairness of calling someone mentally retarded: one girl wrote, "It means they should be treated in the same way as we who are not retarded."

Question 2 asked pupils how they found out about mentally retarded peo- ple. Like their U.S. peers, many Barbadian children (35°7o) mentioned con- tact with mentally retarded friends or relatives, or seeing or knowing persons in their communi ty whom they had been told were mentally retarded. How- ever, a smaller proport ion of the Barbadian sample (13°70 as compared to 29°7o) reported receiving information personally f rom adults, and no Bar- badians reported having learnt anything f rom other children (17O7o of U.S. children cited peers). The major cross-national difference however, was in the much greater proport ion of Barbadians reporting the media as important sources of information (51°70 compared to 13O7o). Of the 101 Barbadian children citing media sources, the majori ty (68o7o) mentioned television, 24O7o mentioned books, and just a few listed radio and newspapers. Five children also specifically mentioned the widely publicized Special Olympics, which has been the target o f several local fund-raising campaigns.

Question 3 asked about the common causes of mental retardation. Siper- stein and Bak, who used samples of students at three age levels (Grades 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12), do not present separate age-level data for this question; nonetheless, overall figures suggest there is considerable similarity between

TABLE 1. Characteristics Used by Pupils to Describe Mentally Retarded Children

Percentage of Characteristics

Social/ Brain Sample Learning Emotional Phys ica l Impairment Helplessness

United States 43 7 22 16 16 Barbados 33 10 37 11 11

Note. United States data are from Siperstein and Bak, 1980. Percentage totals exceed 100°70, as some pupils identified more than one characteristic.

190 Monica A. Payne

U.S. and Barbadian children in the extent to which they consider factors relating to the mother to be responsible for mental retardation. In the pres- ent study (See Table 2), 37°/o of all answers referred to the pregnant mother, almost half implying the woman was "to blame." Interestingly, though, several pupils specified that drug abuse by either parent could cause mental retarda- tion in their offspring. Causes relating to heredity, including sexual relations between close relatives, were identified by 607o of pupils. Only one child re- ferred to local superstitions, saying that " . . . when the child is young and you cut off all his or her hair they can become mentally retarded." United States pupils emerged far more likely than Barbadians to mention problems and defects at birth, whereas the latter more frequently referred to external factors in early childhood (and even adulthood).

Questions 4 and 5 referred to prevention. Only 23°/o of Barbadian pupils thought retardation could be prevented, as compared to 46°/0 of the total Siperstein and Bak sample. Of those Barbadians believing in prevention, the greatest number suggested prenatal measures (see Table 3). Although similar proport ions of U.S. and Barbadian children mentioned pre- or perinatal measures (4307/0 and 4607-/0, respectively), fewer Barbadians (13070 as compared to 22070) cited education as a means of overcoming mental retardation. How- ever, 33°/0 of Barbadians believing in prevention thought the disability could be "cured" medically during early childhood, especially by brain surgery.

In answer to Questions 6 and 7, 50070 of U.S. and 52070 of Barbadian 10 to 12-year-olds agreed that mentally retarded children look different from other girls and boys. The present sample specified a wide variety of dif- ferences, including skeletal deformity, clumsy or otherwise strange behavior, and a number of abnormal physical features. Approximately one quarter of

TABLE 2. Common Causes of Mental Retardation

Identified by Barbadian Children

Causal Categories

Percentage of Children Identifying Each Cause

Boys (n = 114) 07o Girls (n = 85) °/0

Inherited or "inborn" cause Substance abuse by parents Illness of, or injury to, pregnant mother Birth complications, prematurity Early childhood illness, malnutrition Injury (childhood or later) Parental behavior (abuse, neglect, pressure, etc.) Other stressful personal experience Substance abuse by individual

7.0 9.4 20.2 27.1 17.5 24.7 15.8 35.3 7.0 10.6

29.0 23.5 7.0 3.5 6.1 4.7 5.3 4.7

Note. Percentage totals exceed 10007o as some answers included comments classifiable in more than one category.

Children's Understanding of Mental Retardation

TABLE 3. Means of Preventing Retardation Identified by Barbadian Children

191

Means of Prevention

Percentage of Children Identifying Each Method

Boys (n = 21) Girls (n = 25)

Better personal health care by pregnant women 4.8 Provision of better prenatal checks, screening 9.5 Better general postnatal child care 9.5 Postnatal medical intervention 47.6 Special educational assistance 4.8 Reduction of stress in everyday life 9.5 Banning of cigarettes, alcohol, other abused drugs 28.6 Prayer, faith in God 9.5

68.0 4.0 8.0

20.0 20.0 4.0

Note. Percentages in this table are calculated with reference only to those children who answered Question 4 in the affirmative.

all comments referred to head or facial features, such as "big head," "flat face," "tiny eyes," and several pupils commented that mentally retarded children seemed to have "no features" or that they all looked alike. A signifi- cant number of remarks (110/o) related to abnormalities in the speech of men- tally retarded children and to difficulty in understanding them. Additionally, 25 pupils believed that mentally retarded children "walk differently" and 7 noted that some "will be in wheelchairs."

The final question asked children to say how they thought mentally retard- ed boys and girls feel (see Table 4). Siperstein and Bak reported 16% of their subjects stated that they feel "normal" or "just like we do," and 12% of the present sample did likewise. One boy wrote, for example, "I think they feel the same way we do, proud to be alive and things like that," and a girl stated, "I think mentally retarded people have the same feelings as we do, so that when people laugh at them of course they will feel sad, just as we would." Additionally, some statements indicated appreciation of individual or situa- tional differences: One boy wrote, "Some feel that they are different from others, some feel sad, others feel as if they are like any other boy or girl, which they are," and another that, "Some might feel unhappy because they are retarded but others might feel that it doesn't matter." Several pupils expressed the opinion that mentally retarded children could only feel happy when they were with other retarded people, or that they would always feel sad, lonely, odd or uncomfortable in the company of non-mentally retarded persons; others, however, felt this would only be the case if their parents did not show love and affection or if other children refused to play with them. Pupils were divided as to whether mentally retarded children are aware of their condi- tion; some felt that, "they feel sad at first but as they get used to being retarded they tend to feel like normal people." One girl wrote, possibly a little envious-

192 Monica A. Payne

T AB L E 4. Barbadian Pupils ' Views on how Menially Retarded Children Feel

Response Categories

Percentage of Children Identifying Each Category

Boys (n = 114) Girls (n = 85)

They feel good, happy 5.3 They feel normal 9.7 They feel bad, different, ashamed, etc 54.4 They feel socially isolated 29.0 How they feel depends on who they are with 4.4

3.5 15.3 47.1 24.7 14.1

Note. Percentage totals exceed 100% as a few responses included comments classi- fiable in more than one category.

Four and four tenths percent of boys and 9.4% of girls also noted that there would be individual differences between mentally retarded children as to how they feel.

ly, that mentally retarded children should be happy because "they don't get given chores to do like other children." Overall, however, approximately half of the sample thought that mentally retarded children feel "bad," "different" or, using a local phrase, "all tightin up," and about one-quarter believed that they feel lonely and unloved.

Analysis of Data by Sex

Although Siperstein and Bak (1980) employed approximately equal num- bers of boys and girls in their sample, they do not report a breakdown of data according to sex. Such an analysis might provide useful insights, however, and was therefore undertaken in the present study. Findings are presented here, as well as in Tables 2, 3 and 4.

A comparison of answers supplied by boys and girls to the first two ques- tions revealed no significant overall differences, although in answer to Ques- tion 1, a higher proportion of boys than of girls referred to social/emotional characteristics in the conceptualization of what it means to be mentally retard- ed, x2(1) = 4.06, p < .05. Similarly, although there was no significant sex dif- ference in the overall distribution of responses to Question 3, there were some marked differences regarding individual response categories. More girls than boys mentioned complications surrounding the birth as causes of mental retar- dation (e.g., mother's ill health at time of delivery, prematurity, injury to child during delivery), X2(1)= 11.22, p < .01, whereas significantly more boys than girls cited traumatic experiences later in life (e.g., having a road accident, be- ing maltreated by parents, abusing drugs). Furthermore, whereas roughly equal proportions of boys and girls referred to maternal factors, the girls of- fered a much greater variety of reasons and more frequently apportioned blame. Thus girls identified mental retardation as due to mothers drinking,

Children's Understanding of Mental Retardation 193

smoking or abusing other drugs while pregnant, taking dangerous pills pre- scribed by a doctor, contracting a disease, failing to go for check-ups, un- successfully attempting an abortion, having an accident, or being beaten up by a man. Almost all the boys' responses, by contrast, referred to the preg- nant woman either falling or being in a road accident.

A higher proportion of girls than of boys (2907o to 1807o) thought it was possible to prevent mental retardation, but this difference is not statistically significant. Of those believing prevention possible, significantly more girls than boys referred to care of the mother, including improved prenatal serv- ices, as the means of prevention, X'(1) = 15.68, p < .01. On the other hand, six boys, but none of the girls, referred to banning or limiting the sale of alcohol and other drugs.

Questions 6, 7 and 8, examining beliefs about the appearance and feelings of mentally retarded children, revealed no major overall sex differences. Although a higher proportion of girls than of boys (6007o to 45070) agreed that mentally retarded children did not look the same as other boys and girls, the difference does not reach statistical significance, and the frequencies with which the various abnormal physical and behavioral features were ascribed to mentally retarded children by the two sexes were virtually identical. Similar- ly, there were no marked differences in the responses of boys and girls regard- ing the mentally retarded child's feelings, although slightly more girls than boys thought that how children felt would be affected by whether they were in the company of mentally retarded or non-mentally retarded persons, and slightly more boys than girls believed that mentally retarded children harbored aggressive feelings toward others.

DISCUSSION

Responses to Question 1 suggest that many of these Barbadian children possess a reasonable understanding of what it means to be mentally retard- ed. Nevertheless, there is considerable evidence here, as in Siperstein and Bak's study (1980), that children of this age either confuse, or fail to distinguish between, mental and physical disability, or assume that all mentally retard- ed children will also exhibit some physical atypicality. Conant and Budoff (1983) have suggested that children find it more difficult to conceptualize men- tal retardation than orthopedic disability, although the patterning and tim- ing of development of awareness of different types of disability may be altered by contact with disabled persons or by formal or informal instruction.

Lack of discrimination between types of disability was also highlighted in answers to Question 3, in which a few important misconceptions e m e r g e d - particularly some confusion with mental illness, as evidenced by the children who thought mental retardation developed in late childhood (or even later) as a result of experiencing severe financial or emotional problems, for exam-

194 Monica A. Payne

ple, or the death of a loved one. Nevertheless, reference to the literature on organic and environmental causes of retardation (e.g., Balla & Zigler, 1980) indicates that approximately three-quarters of all pupils' suggestions may be judged "correct."

A number of pupils blamed parents for their behavior during the prenatal period, the mother especially for drinking too much or abusing drugs, and the father either for taking drugs or for beating his pregnant partner. Thus, they seemed to be drawing on general observations of the major everyday con- cerns of Caribbean life to explain mental retardation, much as they might presumably attempt to explain other problems. Featured strongly were heavy drinking (rum was often specified), drug-taking (particularly marijuana), family violence, and corporal punishment. It may be noted that abusive levels of family violence are to some extent culturally sanctioned in most Caribbean societies, and Barbados itself is one of the relatively few countries still per- mitting corporal punishment in schools (Feshbach, 1980). In these respects, pupils' views are in agreement with those of local educators, who consider home background to be an important cause of mild levels of mental retarda- tion among West Indian children, particularly insofar as language develop- ment is hindered by parental (and teacher) adherence to the tenet that children "should be seen and not heard". Children from low socio-economic status homes in rural areas are viewed to be especially at risk (Thorburn, 1970).

This sample of Barbadian pupils demonstrated considerable insight into the potential social and emotional problems faced by mentally retarded chil- dren. Although Neehall (Thorburn, 1970) reported only 20o7o of the 44 men- tally retarded children in his Trinidadian study suffered "a little unkindness" and none were ridiculed, approximately one third of those surveyed in the present study thought mentally retarded children were likely to be laughed at or criticized, or to feel lonely as a result of being ignored by their peers or not loved by their parents. Several children thought mentally retarded peers would feel "odd" or "in pain" in the company of non-mentally retarded per- sons, or hold aggressive feelings toward others, and it may be noted that, despite an apparent lack of public hostility, Neehall did report a very high incidence in his sample (82o7o) of moderate or severe behavior problems.

Comparison of the responses of Barbadian boys and girls revealed relative- ly few major sex differences; such as they were, they appeared mainly at- tributable to one or both of two factors. First, the girls, not surprisingly, demonstrated more detailed knowledge of facts relating to pregnancy and childbirth, and referred to these more frequently than did boys in their sug- gestions for the causes, and means of preventing, mental retardation. Second, however, the typically more explicit and factually accurate nature of girls' responses may be in part have been a function of their superior command of written English. It is also possible this contributed to the higher propor- tions of girls than of boys responding affirmatively to Questions 4 and 6

Children's Understanding of Mental Retardation 195

(checking "No" eliminated the need to try and formulate answers to Ques- tions 5 and 7, and therefore offered an "easier" response option). Indeed, it was probably more generally true that limited facility with written English curtailed the comprehensiveness or precision of many pupils' answers, and an orally administered interview schedule may be necessary to tap these children's knowledge to the fullest extent.

Overall, the similarities between the responses of U.S. and Barbadian 10 to 12-year-olds to the Siperstein and Bak (1980) questionnaire outweighed the differences. Although the Barbadian children emerge as slightly less well in- formed in some respects, they also appear somewhat more insightful and em- pathic, and never used any of the somewhat derogatory terms employed by some of their U.S. counterparts, such as "dumb" or "stupid." Such differences as were observed were presumably largely a function of differences in the sources of information to which the two groups had been exposed, and possibly to the educational policies operating in their respective school systems and the extent to which these policies provide special facilities for mentally retarded children and draw attention to different aspects of their coping and adjustment problems.

It is obvious that many Caribbean territories, for financial or other reasons, are still failing to cater adequately to the needs of the mentally retarded, and relatively few of the recommendations of the 1970 regional conference have, even now, been implemented. Although somewhat uncritically espoused by several governments, the mainstreaming of mildly mentally retarded children in regular schools tends at present to be the result of indiscriminate rather than deliberate educational policy and the lack of alternative facilities. None- theless, increased media attention to the problems of the disabled, and in- auguration of social events such as the Special Olympics, are beginning to have an impact which is clearly reflected in the findings of the present study.

However, this impact must be examined critically. On the one hand, it is heartening to read responses such as that of the girl who wrote for Question 8, "I think mentally retarded boys and girls feel proud, especially if people treat them like very important people." On the other hand, the high propor- tion of pupils agreeing that mentally retarded children "look different" is prob- ably at least partly due to the fact that televised documentaries and dramas featuring the mentally retarded almost exclusively involve Down's syndrome individuals. In a small country such as Barbados, with only one television station, three radio stations and two newspapers, the potential for reaching a large proportion of the population with national public awareness cam- paigns is obviously unusually high. Furthermore, it has been suggested that the Special Olympics may be a particularly effective way of changing public opinion, because the disabled are seen demonstrating their skills rather than their handicaps (Thorburn, 1970), and techniques emphasizing the similar- ities rather than the differences between the mentally retarded and the non-

196 Monica A. Payne

mentally retarded can also be of use in instructional programs (Siperstein & Chatillon, 1982). However, it is equally important to preclude the dangers inherent in providing information that is too limited, simplistic, or stereo- typed. Insofar as the children in the present study demonstrated considerable empathy with their mentally retarded peers in terms of their social experiences, but relatively less awareness of their intellectual problems, there would seem to be a need for future attention to be particularly focused on the issue of allowing and assisting mentally retarded children to develop their academic potential.

However, given the generally positive, if occasionally factually inaccurate, responses of these children, one cannot help but finally conclude that the most urgent need may be for programs more specifically directed at adults. The 1970 and 1983 regional reports, together with the present author 's (Payne, in press) survey of Caribbean teachers' attitudes toward the mentally retarded, suggest that negativity on the part of parents and teachers is the major prob- lem. Researchers elsewhere have similarly reported that schoolchildren seem to find it easier than their teachers to accept children with special needs (e.g., Hegarty, 1982a). There is also some evidence that attention to these issues may become increasingly urgent as a function of more general societal changes in developing countries: Walker (1982), for example, reports that in Ghana the status of the mentally retarded is changing, in that breakdown of extend- ed family networks and other characteristic features of "modernizat ion" are resulting in increased negativity of attitudes toward the mentally retarded and assumptions by the public of state, rather than family, responsibility for their care and support.

To some extent, these changes appear to have been anticipated in the Carib- bean. A major conclusion of the 1970 regional conference was that "the prob- lem of mental retardation is a national responsibility" (Thorburn, 1970, p. 60), and as noted previously, some governments have made serious at tempts to inculcate a sense of responsibility among all sections of the general public. What appears to be additionally needed is implementat ion of more intensive and regular programs of information, advice, and support for those families and educational and health professionals who have the responsibility of car- ing for, and interacting with, the mentally retarded on an everyday basis.

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