Every fourth morning in Melbourne a mother goes to pick up her baby from its cotonly to find that her baby is dead. This statement, which ignores the seasonalincidence of cot death, does indicate however both the frequency and the tragicdrama of cot death.

The first recorded case of probable cot death in Australia was recorded in 1810.I say probable as we have no means of knowing whether it would really fit thecurrently accepted definition of cot death which is “the sudden andunexpected death of an infant in whom a thorough post mortem examination doesnot disclose an adequate cause of death”. Some infants do die suddenlyand unexpectedly from diseases such as myocarditis, meningitis, andgastro-enteritis. But these conditions are readily recognised by the pathologistwho examines the baby after death. It is when he is unable to find evidence ofany such lethal disease after a thorough examination that he records his verdictas cot death, or as it is usually labelled these days, Sudden Infant DeathSyndrome or SIDS.

Parents invariably experience great emotional distress when they are informedthat their child is intellectually handicapped. From working with parents ofintellectually handicapped children, it appears that they experience moreanxiety with their child than do parents of normal children, and often havespecial needs. These needs may vary from requiring assistance to adjust to theirchild’s condition, to advice and guidance about how to manage theirchild. It is apparent from talking with parents about their experiences withtheir intellectually handicapped child, that often their needs have not or haveonly superficially been met by professionals. Some cases have been adequatelydealt with, however, in general there appear to be discrepancies in theavailability of assistance for parents of intellectually handicapped children.There is a need to bring into focus the situation as it now exists for parentswhen they are told of their child’s handicap. The time when parents aretold of their child’s handicap is a crucial one for parents, and perhapsnot enough is being done to help parents at this time.

Most readers will be aware of Rosemary Crossley’s work with Anne McDonaldand the court case which gave Anne permission to leave the institution and livewith Rosemary. The following article reflects Rosemary’s strong concernwith respect to the care of residents of institutions. We publish the paperbecause it reflects the personal view of someone who has been involved in thecare of children with disability.

In dealing with alcohol abuse, a focus on the family is of importance.Conversely, in dealing with problematic children or families there is goodreason to recognise the possibility of alcohol abuse. Awareness of the possibleadaptiveness of alcohol in the family may assist the professional in helping thefamily to move.

The James McGrath Foundation’s Odyssey House is a drug-free, residentialtherapeutic community for the treatment of drug addiction. The programme wasinitiated by Dr. Judianne Densen-Gerber, a psychiatrist and lawyer, in theUnited States of America fifteen years ago, and has been operative in Australiain New South Wales since October, 1977 and in Victoria since July, 1980. TheVictorian residential facility is located at Lower Plenty in a spacious buildingoriginally constructed by the Roman Catholic Church, situated on nine hectaresof land and now “home” for one hundred and thirty former drugaddicts. There are three specific programmes incorporated within the overallOdyssey programme offering treatment services to adults, adolescents thirteen toseventeen years old and parents and their dependent children. Referrals to theseprogrammes are in general from medical and mental health programmes, socialservices agencies, schools, jails, courts and probation and parole departments.In addition, fifty-two percent of residents are self-referred or referred byfamily or friends.