Retarded persons as "teachers": retarded adolescents tutoring retarded children

The present study was concerned with investigating the effect of training mentally retarded adolescents in a residential school to act as tutors for younger retarded children who were deficient in dressing and eating skills. The effect of a tutorial program on both the adolescents (tutors) and the young children (trainees), in terms of acquisition and retention of self-maintenance skills for the trainees and social and personal adjustment for the tutors, was examined. Tutors received 30 hours of training in dressing-techniques and 30 hours of training in eating-techniques. The tutors were able to teach the dressing- and eating-skills to the trainees in 18.5 and 20 hours, respectively. The statistically significant overall success of the trainees supports the view that retarded persons can successfully instruct other retarded persons. Educational and economic implications of the findings were discussed.