MENTALLY RETARDED CHILD
WHEREAS, the mentally retarded individual has potentialities that deserve the right to develop to the fullest extent; and
WHEREAS, school attendance has a normalizing effect upon children and produces desirable changes in the growth and development of the mentally retarded child; and
WHEREAS, better adjustment has been noted in the homes of children who have attended school; and
WHEREAS, the school is the best qualified agency to initiate and conduct parent-education programs, educational research, and curriculum development:
RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers advocate that the mentally retarded child has the right to be developed to the maximum of his ability; and
RESOLVED, that the mentally retarded child be (1) educationally diagnosed, (2) physically examined, (3) placed in the best educational program available, (4) taught by qualified personnel, (5) periodically evaluated as to progress, further training, personal and social adjustment.
(1959)