This market-leading text provides educators with the most current information about the many facets of mental retardation and intellectual disabilities from a life-cycle perspective. The authors provide comprehensive yet concise coverage of all relevant content and also show relationships between theory and practice, decode the terminology used in the field and relate these terms and concepts to the reality of the classroom, the world of work, and the life of the community.   Changes to the Seventh Edition:

• A reorganized table of contents facilitates better reader comprehension of difficult to understand concepts and underscores the lifespan approach of the text.
• Discussions of multiculturalism, diversity, and family values are brought to the forefront with a new chapter covering this content. (Chapter 7)
• Autism Spectrum Disorders are given more prominence. (Chapter 9)
• The Companion Website (http: //www.prenhall.com/beirne-smith) is integrated throughout the text via margin notes that cue readers to relevant online activities and resources, such as self-assessment quizzes, and links to related websites, articles, case studies, and video. Students can also communicates with one another using the message board, and faculty can post and maintain syllabi using the online Syllabus Manager tool.