The concept of developmental disabilities as a group of problems with origins in the stages of human development has been broadened by recent legislation to include mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, dyslexia, and other neurological impairments. The debate continues on whether or not specific disability categories should be named, but the functional aspects of the problems seem to be generally accepted. Potential implications of this legislation for occupational therapy are discussed in this paper. Numerous programs supported by a variety of governmental units and private agencies will need qualified professionals. This paper concludes with a brief list of six developmental disability programs of the University of Michigan University Affiliated Facility and an outline of three models of field placement in developmental disabilities for occupational therapy students.
发育障碍作为一组起源于人类发育阶段的问题，这一概念已被近期的立法拓宽，涵盖智力障碍、脑瘫、癫痫、自闭症、诵读困难及其他神经障碍。关于是否应明确特定残疾类别仍存在争议，但这些问题的功能方面似乎已得到普遍认可。本文讨论了该立法对职业治疗的潜在影响。众多由不同政府单位和私人机构支持的项目将需要合格的专业人员。本文最后简要列出了密歇根大学大学附属机构的六个发育障碍项目，并概述了职业治疗专业学生发育障碍领域实习的三种模式。
