Antecedents of handicap.

In the search to reduce the prevalence and severity of handicap in childhood, a high priority should be accorded to identifying and eradicating possible causes of brain damage; to achieving a uniformly high standard of perinatal care; and to eliminating other causes of disability. At he same time attempts must be made to improve attitudes to handicapped children and to support parents in their efforts to minimise the effects of disability. It should be accepted that expectations of perfection in the newborn infant set an impossibly high standard and are likely to create that rejecting environment which itself increases handicap.