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All these factors coincide decisively when the retardate in his development comes to the state of accepting himself as an adult and as a responsible person with a realistic self-confidence. These points are the more important, as becoming adult for the mentally retarded also means coming to terms with his own awareness of being mentally retarded (Cobb, 1966).

As almost every situation for the mentally retarded has a pedagogical significance and often is related to his slow building up of a self-concept, it is essential that the mentally retarded should be offered appropriate facilities, which assist his educational processes and development and which make it possible for him to experience himself as becoming adult in his own eyes and in the eyes of others. This is a basic requirement for helping his life development come as close to the normal as possible..

Large institutions and the conditions we can observe in their back wards can never offer facilities of the kind and quality that are essential. In the large wards, the rhythm of the day reduces the retarded to an object in an empty, machinelike atmosphere. The normal rhythm of daily routines of occupation, leisure, and personal life is emasculated to surrogate activities, not integrated with a meaningful personal existence. The normal rhythm of the year is mostly dwarfed through the experience of monotonous confinement. The development of individuality is helplessly mutilated and crushed in a life in herds.

Application of normalization principles has profound implications not only to the retarded but also to the public, to those who work with the retarded, and to the parents of the retarded.

When residential facilities for mentally retarded children are constructed, located, operated, and interpreted as homes for children; when special schools for the mentally retarded are integrated into regular schools or are looked upon as no more than schools for children and youth; and when group homes and hostels for the adult retarded are looked upon mainly as homes for adults; then such direct and normal experiences will result in a normalization of society's attitudes toward the retarded. Isolation and segregation foster ignorance and prejudice, whereas integration and normalization of smaller groups of mentally retarded improve regular human relations and understanding, and generally are a prerequisite for the social integration of the individual.

Normalizing a mental retardation setting also normalizes the working conditions of the personnel. Workers perceive the retardate, his role, and their own roles in entirely different ways. In turn, the workers themselves are perceived differently by society. They enjoy a higher status and gain in self-respect. Almost always, an increase in work efficiency and effectiveness is one of the results.

Application of normalization principles also can serve to normalize the parents' situation. When residential centers, group homes, and schools of normal standards, sizes, and locations are available, as well as day centers and workshops, the parents of the retarded can choose placements according to the individual needs of the retarded person and the needs of the family. Their choice of placement can be accomplished freely and with an easier mind, rather than being an anguished and forced choice between the horrible and the impossible.

The closer persons in the decision-making bodies of society come to the mentally retarded, the more likely they are to render decisions resulting in appropriate and efficient programs. It may be sobering to many Americans that in Sweden, programs based on normalization principles are not dreams but actual realities brought about by the decisions of "hard-headed" penny-pinching county council appropriation committees. For those who are interested in how normalization principles have been embodied in Swedish legislation, details are provided in the Appendix.

REFERENCES

Avedon, E. M. Therapeutic recreation service and mentally retarded adolescents. Paper presented at the symposium on The Adolescent Retardate, First Congress of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency, Montpellier, France, 12-20 September 1967. Published by the Israel Association for Rehabilitation of the Mentally Handicapped (AKIM). Pp. 9-11.

Chigier, E. The use of group dynamics in the rehabilitation of severely retarded adolescents in an institution in Israel. Paper presented at the symposium on The Adolescent Retardate. First Congress of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency, Montpellier, France, 12-20 September 1967. Published by the Israel Association for Rehabilitation of the Mentally Handicapped (AKIM). Pp. 1-4.

Cobb, H. V. The attitude of the retarded person towards himself. In International League of Societies for the Mentally Handicapped. Stress on families of the mentally handicapped. Brussells: ILSMH, 1967. Pp. 62-74.

International League of Societies for the Mentally Handicapped. Legislative aspects of mental retardation. Stockholm: ILSMH, 1967.