Chapter 1 - Developmental Disabilities and Primate Models Defined

Abstract

This chapter explains how primate models clarify the understanding of ill-health and childhood disability. The United States Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 states that developmental disability is a severe, chronic disability of an individual having five defining properties. The disability is attributable to mental or physical impairment or a combination of mental and physical impairments; manifested before the age of 22; likely to continue indefinitely; results in substantial functional limitations in three or more of the following areas of activity: self-care, receptive and expressive living, learning, mobility, self-direction, capacity for independent living, and economic self-sufficiency; and reflects the need for special, interdisciplinary, or generic services, individualized support, or other forms of assistance that are of lifelong or extended duration and are individually planned and coordinated. Childhood diseases and developmental disabilities afflict millions of children worldwide. The causes of many developmental physical and psychological conditions, such as learning disabilities, social behavior pathologies, and abnormal motor coordination, are often unknown. Scientific understanding of the causes and cures of childhood diseases and disabilities depends on research. The purpose of a behavioral primate model is to aid in identifying causal processes affecting human behaviors and to assist in specifying etiological factors, symptoms, therapies, and lifespan effects involved in abnormal behavior.