A matched comparison of the developmental growth of institutionalized and deinstitutionalized mentally retarded clients.

Seventy mentally retarded clients previously residing in a large state institution were matched with 70 clients who remained at the same institution. Clients were matched by sex, level of retardation, years institutionalized, self-care skills, age, and IQ. Developmental growth, operationally defined as adaptive behavior change using a research version of the AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scale, was measured for all clients at Time 1 and Time 2. Demographic and environmental factors that could be associated with adaptive behavior growth were explored. Only the deinstitutionalized clients displayed significant growth. They increased in adaptive behavior and showed no significant change in maladaptive behavior.