MR in 25 years.

Not one problem, but a 'state-of-mind' about the whole fringe of human per-
formance. Therefore depend as muchion the state of our social organization

and industrial machinery as on medical progress.

Positive expectations--~

If current research effort continues

1. we will understand most of the serious developmental fablures well enough to
classify most cases. Preventive hygiene may reduce incidence by SO to 90%, and
some therapeutic mitagation of the unavoidable cases may be developed. We will

have some perplexing questions of preventive eugenics and reproductive control.

2. Mild retardation is more perplexing, since there will always be a marginal
MRX 3%. Technological advance will probably outpace medicoxeducational, the
margin of under-trainable increasing. The retarded will then remain a problem
until there is a profound change of attitude, and an accomodation to residual
human skills. But intellect is not the only human value-- perhaps the less so
in the eventually automated society. Interpersonal skills likely to become the
most important values. Merging of mental retardation with general psychiatric
problems.

5. Probable paradoxes of medical progress--hormonal control of prenatal brain
development. (Today's Wash-Post). Responsivity to control override normal

potentiality as figure of merit.

4. Increasing automation does allow more play for individual training and use
of special skélls.
5. Social insurance can isolate the burdens of occurrence of retardation in

a family.

alyt & lun ce Lh ver. [31/6