A STUDY OF DIFFERENCES IN ADAPTIVE BEHAVIORAL SKILLS OF MENTALLY CHALLENGED CHILDREN WITH GENDER

The present study assessed and compared the adaptive behavioral skills of 150 mentally challenged children from 3 RCI (Rehabilitation Council of India) recognized special schools of Delhi across their gender. Sample was drawn randomly in equal proportions from three categories of mental challenge under study viz. mild, moderate and severe mental challenge, belonged to low and middle income families. The adaptive behavioral skills of mentally retarded children were assessed using Behavioral Assessment Scales for Indian Children with Mental Retardation Part A developed by NIMH. Small sample t test was employed to find out the significance of difference between child’s genders on adaptive behavioral skills. The findings of the present study revealed that among both low and middle income families, gender has no role in acquiring adaptive behavioral skills among mentally challenged children. Interestingly, the predominant reason for non significant differences in adaptive behavior across child’s gender might be the fact that children of both genders gets equally affected by disability condition and it’s the disability status that may be the determining factor in the acquisition of adaptive skills.