DISABILITY ASSESSMENT OF A LARGE HOSPITAL POPULATION WITH A MENTAL HANDICAP

The current study describes the results of the evaluation of the entir e population of a mental handicap hospital using the Disability Assess ment Schedule (DAS) with a view to identifying the weaknesses, strengt hs, needs and comparing their correlations with demographic variables. The large majority of this hospital population have varying degrees o f disabilities. The older group who had been in the hospital for longe r periods of time were significantly more sociable, with better verbal expression, fewer with behaviour problems and less autistic behaviour as compared to the younger group. The severely/profoundly handicapped group had significantly lower scores in all the DAS items. The differ ent populations in this study illustrate the changes in admission poli cies to mental handicap hospitals over the last decades, and the futur e need of facilities for psychiatrically unwell, behaviourally difficu lt, and multiply handicapped people in the community.