Age-related progress among children with severe learning difficulties

Severely educationally handicapped children aged between seven and 13 years were assessed on scales of psychological development. Improvements in cognition, social skills and language were observed around the age of 11 to 12 years. These developments were most clearly seen in two subgroups of the sample: those with Down's syndrome and those whose mental retardation was unaccompanied by any severe pathological condition. It appeared that the gains were not an artefact of selective processes operating in the sample. The reason for improvements in diverse areas, some of which might be associated with psychological development and others with growth of physical skills, is not clear, but the findings indicate the need for longitudinal studies of the severely educationally subnormal, and particularly of the two subgroups mentioned, who together comprise about three-fifths of those with severe learning difficulties.