Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Determination of Reproductive Competence by Confirming Pubertal Onset and Performing a Fertility Assay in Mice and Rats
Published on: October 13, 2018
Sexual maturation in girls with severe mental handicap
1Department of Paediatrics, Hammersmith Hospital, London.
Abstract:
It is becoming accepted that sex education of handicapped adolescents should not be neglected. For such education to be effective, it should begin before sexual maturity. In an attempt to provide a starting guideline for girls attending ESN(S) schools in the Manchester area, a cross-sectional survey was performed to determine mean age of menarche. The results showed the group as a whole to be on average 13 months later than normal. However, Down's syndrome formed a large identifiable subgroup with a mean menarcheal age 11 months earlier than normal, leaving the non-Down's group 21 months later than normal, and 2 years 8 months behind the Down's group. The implications for education are discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Introduction to Developmental Psychology
Three Developmental Domains
Physical Development
Physical processes, also known as maturation, encompass the biological changes that occur across an individual's life. These changes begin with genetic inheritance and continue through various stages, including growth in height and weight,...
Psychosexual Theory of Development
The Five Stages of Psychosexual Development
Freud's psychosexual...
Cognitive Development During Adolescence
Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development
Intellectual Disability

