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Eighty-two per cent of all cases of abuse or neglect of an adult with mental retardation substantiated by the Abuse Investigation Division of the Connecticut Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities over a five-year period occurred in ..the victim's residence. Chi square analyses revealed that there was significantly more abuse in institutions and group homes and significantly less in the individual's own home. Furthermore, analyses revealed that there was significantly more personal neglect in group homes and community training homes and significantly less in own homes. The results were discussed and recommendations made regarding ways of reducing abuse and neglect.To date there has been no systematic examination of the incidence of abuse and neglect of adults with mental retardation in residential settings. The majority of the literature on abuse of people with disabilities has focused on children (Dia-

Sexual abuse of adults with mental retardation is perpetrated not only by paid staff, family members and people without disabilities, but also by other adults with mental retardation. Fifty‐six percent of the 171 substantial cases of sexual abuse of adults with mental retardation involved paid staff, family members and others while 42% of the cases involved perpetrators who were other adults with mental retardation. This study compared characteristics of the victims of each group of perpetrators such as level of mental retardation, sex, age, use of psychotropic drugs and physical restraint and location of abuse. A description of the perpetrators was also included. Possible reasons for sexual abuse and suggestions for further research were discussed.

The literature reports a number of reasons why abuse of people with mental retardation occurs. These causes of abusive behavior can be divided into three categories: organizational variables, staff characteristics, and client characteristics. The author examines each of the variables and presents recommendations for reducing their contributions to abusive behavior.

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is defined by a pattern of characteristics that include prenatal and postnatal growth deficiencies, short eyelid slits, abnormal jaw protrusion, altered palmar crease patterns, and joint and cardiac anomalies. The major outcome of the FAS is mental deficiency concomitant with fine motor dysfunction. This article explores recent findings on FAS, patterns of malformation, alcohol and other drugs, the toxicity of ethanol, the incidence of FAS, and implications of the syndrome.