Designing Environments for Mentally Retarded Clients

An environment that stimulates the auditory, visual, and tactile senses increases appropriate behavior among mentally retarded clients and thereby reinforces their learning activities. The author describes several low-cost design techniques for giving a more stimulating and personalized atmosphere to large, existing institutions; discusses design requirements for group homes for retarded and handicapped clients in the community; and summarizes design ideas to be incorporated in new facilities built for retarded clients. She describes the implementation of her design ideas on a unit for blind retarded clients at the Mansfield Training School in Connecticut.