An attempt to assess and predict adaptive behavior of institutionalized mentally retarded clients

Institutionalized retarded clients (N = 142) were assessed on the Adaptive Behavior Scale (ABS) within 6 months of their admission to Woodhaven Center (Philadelphia) and approximately 12 to 18 months later. While clients were found to progress significantly on 7 of the 10 domains of Part One of the ABS, no significant gains were noted on Part Two. Selected client characteristics (age of admission, sex, IQ, AAMD etiological classification) were also examined as predictors of improvement on the ABS. None of these characteristics was significantly associated with gains on the ABS. The above findings were discussed in terms of specific characteristics of the client population and with respect to limitations of the ABS itself.