| Abstract: | Extended lifespans and an increase in community‐based services have created an environment in which it is imperative that educational and service systems focus attention on older people with developmental disabilities. Although the cumulative effects of growing older with a lifelong disability create a unique set of issues and service needs, gerontology courses seldom include content on these elders. An insufficient educational focus translates into a service system inadequately prepared to meet critical individual needs. In this paper we describe an educational model used to prepare students to work with older people who have mental retardation. Students in the course described, part of the Interdisciplinary Leadership Training Program in Aging and Developmental Disabilities at the University of Georgia, are exposed to the ecological perspective as a way to examine various issues related to the aging population with mental retardation. Students explore issues relevant to older individuals with mental retardation and the various contexts in which these individuals function. The six units of the course are: overview of the older population with mental retardation, physiological issues, mental health issues, social support systems, service delivery networks, and legal and ethical concerns. Content from the course model can easily be infused into foundation gerontology courses to expose a greater number of students to the group of older people who have mental retardation. |
