Organized in 1950 by a group of parents and friends of people with mental retardation, today ARC has more than 160,000 members in some 1,300 state and local chapters.

We work on local, state and national levels to:

• foster necessary research to help people with mental retardation live more independently and productively
• increase public awareness of the needs, capabilities and potential of individuals with mental retardation
• encourage progressive government legislation
• promote better community services
• develop employment opportunities
• offer guidance to those who need help and to those who want to help; and
• increase awareness of the ways to help prevent mental retardation in healthy babies and young children.

There are people with mental retardation of every race, religion and nationality; of every educational, social and economic background.

Mental retardation is four times more common than rheumatic fever, nine times more prevalent than cerebral palsy and affects 15 times more people than blindness.

By definition, a person with mental retardation is one who, from childhood, develops at a below average rate and experiences difficulty in learning, social adjustment and often economic productivity.

But the vast majority are classified as mildly retarded. They differ only in their rate and degree of intellectual development. In fact, their mental retardation is not usually apparent until they enter school. And then, as adults, they may lose the label of mental retardation when they enter the job market and other arenas of life.

People with moderate mental retardation usually show developmental delays before they reach school age. However, appropriate early intervention and special education throughout their developmental years can prepare these people to live a satisfying and productive life in the community.

People with severe and profound mental retardation show the most pronounced developmental problems and frequently have other handicaps in addition to mental retardation.

Not too many years ago it was a common belief that these individuals were destined to a life of complete dependency; that they could not learn. However, systematic training efforts have proven that, with very few exceptions, people with severe and profound mental retardation can learn to at least care for their basic needs. Many also can perform useful work, with support, and can otherwise adapt to normal patterns of life.

Recent advances in technology such as assistive devices and computerized aids are also enhancing learning, independence and productivity of many people with mental retardation, regardless of the degree of their disability.

Among the well-known causes are: German measles in the mother during the first three months of pregnancy, meningitis, toxoplasmosis, Rh-factor incompatibility between mother and infant, malnutrition and chromosomal abnormalities such as Down Syndrome, which occurs in one out of 800 babies born.

Recent evidence also indicates that maternal consumption of alcohol and drugs during pregnancy is a leading cause of mental retardation and related birth defects.

Undoubtedly, among people with mild retardation, there are many whose development has been adversely affected by inadequate diet, poor nutrition and lack of learning opportunities.

Infants and young children need the right kind of mental activity just as they need the right kind of physical activity. And when this activity is lacking, mental retardation can occur. So these early years, when the nervous system is maturing and language is developing are very critical.

Destruction of brain tissue or interference with brain development in babies or small children frequently produces mental retardation. This accounts for a high percentage of moderate, severe or profound mental retardation. We can't be sure to what degree brain damage contributes to mild mental retardation, and expert opinion is divided. Several factors may be at work in the same individual. For example, premature babies are more often born to mothers who receive poor prenatal care. And poor prenatal care is, in turn, more common among the disadvantaged in our society. In addition, these same children are too often exposed to adverse environmental conditions which increase the likelihood of mental retardation.

Progress is being made through a succession of small victories across a broad front rather than by any single spectacular breakthrough. In fact, experts estimate that 50 percent of mental retardation could be prevented if current knowledge were fully utilized to assure the healthy birth and development of babies and young children. That is why a wide range of preventive strategies must be employed. Some of those are:

• Access to good prenatal and newborn care for all women and children.
• Improved nutrition of pregnant women and young children to reduce the dangers of mental retardation from malnutrition.
• Education programs that teach women to avoid the use of drugs and alcohol during pregnancy.
• Universal newborn screening and follow up treatment to prevent mental retardation caused by disorders detectable at birth such as PKU (phenylketonuria).
• Routine screening and immunization of mothers to prevent mental retardation caused by the Rh blood factor.
• Routine developmental screening by pediatricians and referral of "at-risk" children to remedial programs.
• Use of child seats and seat belts for children to prevent mental retardation caused by head injuries in car accidents.

In the meantime, there is much that can be done to help people with mental retardation to live fuller, happier, more useful lives.

Most urgently, we need to identify the problem as early as possible in a child's development, so that we can give the support and training needed.

In 1975, the ARC was the leading advocate for passage of The Education for All Handicapped Children Act which guarantees every child with a disability the right to a free and appropriate education. We worked equally hard to inform parents about their children's rights under the law. Since passage of this legislation, more and more children with mental retardation have begun to receive a quality education in community schools.

Many have moved from segregated "special" schools to regular classrooms where they receive an education with their non-disabled peers.

The ARC has also opened the door for mandatory educational services for infants and young children with developmental delays and other handicaps.

Adults with mental retardation have made tremendous progress in employment. In the past, their options were limited to day programs where they performed little meaningful work, or they remained at home, idle.

Vocational programs today offer an array of services to prepare people with mental retardation for work. As the student with mental retardation nears graduation, he or she may enter a program to learn a trade or sharpen other employment skills. Others receive help from agencies that specialize in finding the right job for the individual. Supported employment matches an individual with a job "coach", someone who assists the individual with mental retardation at the work site until he or she becomes established in the job.

As large public and private institutions are scaled down or closed, people with mental retardation are moving into the community. Most can live on their own with little or no assistance. Others live in varying degrees of independence and receive help and support as needed. Although most people with mental retardation live with their families, thousands are in small group homes, supervised apartments or adult foster care in the community where they are learning to live more independently.

1. Disseminate prevention information to everyone, particularly prospective mothers.
2. Alert physicians to the early signs of mental retardation and make diagnostic services available to all population groups.
3. Increase research efforts in the behavioral and social sciences as well as in the biomedical fields.
4. Facilitate the integration of people with mental retardation into all aspects of community life.
5. Work for more high-quality community services so that all people with mental retardation can become participating and contributing members of society.
6. Provide people with mental retardation the opportunity to participate in competitive employment and remove barriers that discourage them from working.
7. Continue to promote legislation which protects the rights of people with mental retardation.
8. Use the power of today's advanced technology to better the lives of all citizens, including those with mental retardation and other disabilities.
9. Provide information and support to parents to help them address the challenges of raising a child with special needs.
10. Educate the public to the fact that people with mental retardation are people who have great potential for development.
11. And most urgently, we must generate the funds necessary to accomplish these activities.