Special education and genetics: Connections for the 21st century

Given recent advances in genetics, child psychiatry, and mental retardation research, etiology-based interventions are becoming increasingly possible for children with different genetic mental retardation conditions. This art icle reviews recent advances in the "new genetics" and shows how such advan ces affect special education. Focusing on Williams, fragile X, Prader-Willi , and Down syndromes, we note how etiology-related cognitive-linguistic pro files and propensities to distinct personalities and behavior problems poin t the way to specific, targeted strategies of intervention. Although curren tly only beginning in special education work, such intervention practices p romise to become increasingly elaborated and effective in the decades to co me.