A developmental-adaptive model for use in service-matrix planning for youth

Abstract

As community services for disturbed and retarded children and their families proliferate, more focused attention should turn to early coordinated planning for the variance of normalcy and the prevention of later, more severe childhood and adolescent disorders. This paper describes a model of human development with specific emphasis on the first two decades of the life cycle. Its usefulness as an organizing instrument in community services planning, both for coordinating already present services, as well as for clarifying service areas requiring development, is the major theme. This paper should be of interest to professionals in community mental health and retardation services, as well as to community organization and administrative specialists. It could be catalytic as a vehicle for initiating discussion with local governmental systems involved in child and family health and preventive services planning.