ABSTRACT
We have tried in the preceding chapters to approach the subject of ageing and mental handicap by considering the individuals with whom we are concerned as having much in common with their non-handicapped peers. A great deal of the material we have reviewed has, therefore, dealt with information from the wider ageing population. Against this background we have considered the impact of mental handicap on the ageing process and on the wider ecology in which the person ages. Thus, we have seen that there are parallels in changing intellectual function with age between individuals with and without mental handicap (Chapter 4), but have also noted the influence of such handicaps on the likelihood of being employed (Chapter 6) and on family functioning (Chapter 8), where substantial divergence from the norm can be discerned. While there is as yet no thoroughly worked out theoretical picture of the impact of mental handicap on the processes and experience of ageing, it is clear that there is a substantial advantage to viewing this population within the wider context of ageing in society, in the same way that critical benefits have accrued to our understanding of development in younger children with handicaps through a consideration of their growth in the wider framework of child development theory.
