TOWARD A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF PARENTS OF MENTALLY RETARDED CHILD

Three perspectives of parents' reaction to retardation are presented, followed by the three stages parents must go through in order to achieve mature understanding of the problem. Finally, some guidelines for counseling are presented: (1) the diagnostic and counseling process in mental retardation is a repetitive one which requires considerable patience on the part of the physician, (2) the physician may misunderstand the stage at which the parents are, leading to a poor encounter between them, (3) the physician's reaction to the child's handicap may mirror the mother's state or his own anxiety and guilt. © 1968 The C. V. Mosby Company.