of developmental and social history, direct observation of the individual’s behavior, verbal reports from interviews, and the use of the other structured and semistructured interviews. Best-practice guidelines require that clinicians using adaptive behavior measures employ those that are culturally compatible and have suitably contemporary and age-related norms.

Finally, the committee has identified a number of research areas, focusing on which would improve the measurement of adaptive behavior for mental retardation diagnosis. These areas include social-cognitive and social skill assessment—with a specific focus on social cognitive processes of social perception, strategy generation, and consequential thinking—and vocational and work-related skills assessment with prognostic value. In addition, there is a strong need to fund studies examining the nature and distribution of adaptive behavior deficits among individuals with mental retardation in general and those with mild mental retardation more specifically.