[The mentally handicapped child and his family].
Three points concerning the mentally retarded child's family and the physician's attitude towards this family are addressed. The first concerns disclosure of the handicap to the parents, which can take place only once the diagnosis is established without equivocation. Genetic counseling, or more pragmatically the reproductiveness of the handicap, is the second point. A thorough investigation of possible etiologies is warranted in all cases in order to try to answer the distressing question: "are the children to be born at risk?". An attempt at a classification based on reproductiveness is proposed. The third point is the future. Should the child remain with it's family or be placed in an institution? This decision is the parents and not the physician's. However, the physician should discuss this problem with the parents to enable them to voice their desires and their anxiety.
D005190:Family; D005817:Genetic Counseling; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007326:Institutionalization; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D014342:Truth Disclosure
L'enfant handicapé mental et sa famille.