Use of blacklight as visual stimulation for people with profound mental retardation and multiple handicaps.

Nineteen people with profound mental retardation and multiple handicaps who lived in a large ICF/MR facility were given visual stimulation in a blacklight environment. A comparison was made between conditions of blacklight and normal light for tracking and reaching. The students performed reliably higher under conditions of blacklight. In the blacklight environment, which removed distracting stimuli and exaggerated critical features, students were able to respond better to visual cues.