THE MENTALLY RETARDED CHILD

Along with many normal children, there are some who are not so lucky and who cannot cope with the demands of a regular school. They just do not have the basic capacities to learn. And it can be a terrible shock to most parents. The parents’ first reaction is ‘why did this happen to us’. Initially they do not want to believe, and there is a fruitless search for reassurance from doctors and psychologists. But ultimately, facts have to be faced and reality accepted. Today there are many avenues open to parents of a mentally retarded child. If he is borderline, he could be placed in a class two rungs below his chronological age. But if he is ineducable in a regular school, he could still be trained to learn some simple jobs which do not require any thinking or decision-making. The sooner the parents identify the child’s weakness the better it id for the child, and the family. Before putting the child in a special school for mentally retarded children, parents should check that other inmates are of similar caliber and not lower than their child’s level. Sometimes such children have special gifts which can be identified. One boy, for example, became a drummer, another had a knack with animals and a third became a good handyman in a shop. It is difficult but many parents do manage to rehabilitate their mentally deprived child. They also need to train the child to protect himself from antisocial groups who are often looking out for such children for their illegal activities. If there is also a normal child in the family, parents should be careful not to neglect the normal child.