The Down's Syndrome Population

In the past, once the clinical diagnosis of Down's syndrome was made, many people responded negatively to further diagnostic and treatment approaches that might have maximized development and learning for the patient. It was also customary to place the patient with Down's syndrome in a residential institution, since his capabilities were deemed to be extremely limited. But with the normalization movement, the mentally retarded are remaining as functional persons in the community (Wolfensberger, 1972), and programs are continually being developed that can provide increasing opportunities for self-fulfillment. The study undertaken by the Denver group attempted to discover whether one vital part of the potential functioning of this population had been overlooked—namely, their hearing capabilities. To this end, we searched for an appropriate sample to investigate. The population studied is detailed in this article, along with a description of the syndrome and what is known about it.