Differences in the behavior and development of profoundly and severely retarded adults

Smeets, ter Laak, Jansen, & Hakker (1980) assessed the behavioral strategies of severely and profoundly retarded adults with four sets of tasks. In this study, the strategies are reconsidered based on three analyses of the individual tasks. The analyses produced the same results and prompted a redefinition of Strategy 2 and a more limited description of Strategy 3. In addition, the strategies are renamed as levels to emphasize their description of ascending levels of competence and behavioral complexity rather than of the stimulus condition. The relevance of these levels for the diagnosis and training of the profoundly and severely retarded is discussed.