Neurological assessment: adaptations for special populations with mental retardation.

The incidence of mental retardation in the United States is approximately 125,000 births per year. Recent changes in government regulations necessitate that nurses caring for mentally retarded persons perform physical appraisals. These in-depth appraisals are a new skill for many nurses caring for the retarded and the routine neurological assessment processes must be modified in order to meet the special needs and behaviors of the mentally retarded population. This article provides examples of how a functional abilities approach to the neurological appraisal process can be modified. Further, two scenarios are presented to demonstrate how neurological data can be obtained from observing an individual's activities of daily living.