Drug therapy in mental handicap.

Definitions of mental handicap are imprecise in practice, and a wide spectrum of patients are provided for under this heading. There can be no question of specific treatment for 'mental handicap' as such. Many situations arising in institutions for the mentally handicapped derive from the nature of the institution and the regime. Drugs may be used 'faute de mieux' when environmental manipulation would be more appropriate. There is much over-prescribing, and the choice of drugs is not always logical; monitoring of dose is seldom employed. A major source of behaviour disturbance in the mentally handicapped is lack of suitable occupation. Apart from a few specific indications, use of sedatives and tranquillizers for the mentally handicapped should be seen as a holding device, to enable a different system of management to be adopted or to disrupt an undesirable behaviour pattern.