الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Mental handicap or subnormality means a state of arrested or incomplete development of mind which includes subnormality of intelligence and is of varying degree, from educable to trainable to an individual incapable ofliving an independent life.
With the growth of community care for people with mental handicaps, it is increasingly important for professionals to recognize emotional disorders in this population and to implement appropriate
clinical management.
The Isle of Wight study indicated that intellectually retarded children had psychiatric disorders 3 to 4 times more frequently than
children in the general population.
The high prevalence of psychiatric problems in individuals of very low intelligence is probably due chiefly to the brain damage which is usually present in these cases.
Social factors such as depriving, hostile and rejecting parental attitudes may adversely affect both intellectual development and emotional stability. Instability has been found to be commoner in the families of retarded children than in other families. Retarded children may also be subject to rejecting attitudes on the part of other children
which may adversely affect tl1eir development and mental health. Also institutionalization can adversely affect both intellectual development and emotional growth.
The family with the burden of mental retardation is ipso facto a family at social and psychological risk. There is real danger that the normal child’s development may suffer from emotional neglect, distorted family • relationships and curtailed opportunity for social contacts due to the pressures of caring for a handicapped child.
Parents of mentally handicapped people are under considerable stress throughout their lives. There may be exacerbations during their offspring’s developmental stages e.g. at the preschool age and in early adolescence ... etc. It is very important that both parents and the mentally handicapped person receive additional support during periods
of transition or development.
The siblings are an extremely important part of the family complex and may have a positive effect in the life - long struggle of the family to adjust and to prepare the handicapped individual for as worthy and fruitful life as possible. These stresses lead to experiencing mild to severe problems in adjustment, anxiety, guilt feelings, fear, frustration, resentment, embarrassment, anger, despair, role identification and future concerns.
Professionals in the field of mentally handicapped need to develop a systematic package of interventions that is made available to the family unit instead of having to resort to emergency measures.
Every effort must be made to ensure that all members of the family.