The hypothesis considered the special training with "USE OF MEASURE" employed in this study was to test of the effectiveness for the facilitation of conservation acquisition. The "USE OF MEASURE" is defined as the abstraction and measurement an attribute of the material. The subjects of the experimental group consisted of seven mentally retarded children, means of chronological age and I.Q. were 163 months (S.D. 5. 89) and 60.6 (S.D. 16.19). The respectivily experiment was conducted through four phases; pretest, training, posttest and relayed posttest. The process aimed the improvement of measurment skills and the formation of reversibility and compensation in the subjects. Thirteen session with forty minutes training were applied. The results of the experiment were as follows; (1) Concerning the conservation of substance, five out of six non-conservers showed the improvement in the acquisition of conservation. A subject improved to conservation from transitivity stage. Concerning the conservation of weight, four out of five non-conservers achieved the acquisition. A subject showed the shift from transitivity to conservation. The significant difference with respect to the improvement were confirmed between the experimental group and the controlled group. Consequently, the special training applied was regarded as an effective method for the subjects. (2) All the subjects who acquired the conservation were able to understand the concept of "USE OF MEASURE". Reversely, a subject who did not acquired the conservation failed in understanding of "USE OF MEASURE" concept. (3) Although four out of seven subjects had not acquisited conservation of length and number at the phase "pretest", three out of these four subjects successfully acquired conservation of the two concepts at the phase "posttest" followed by "training". The results indicated that the conservation training of substance and weight was transferred into the conservation of length and number, and also indicated that these three subjects had the logical explanation on their task. (4) No difference was observed between the result of the posttest immediately after the training and that of the related posttest which was applied three month after the training. This indicated the fact that the ability obtained at the phase "training" holds certain level. (5) The analysis of the record of the training method also confirmed generality and stability. Throughout the training, special emphasis was placed on the programization, visualization and simplification of the instructional materials, in order to compensate the inferiority of abstract ability of the subjects. In conclusion, the effective training applied for mentally retarded children was originally prepared by the author in order to facilitate their conservation. This appears to indicate the fact that mentally retarded children's ability had similar developmental features with those of the normal children.

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For a few years, we have been applying speech training program with operant procedures to mentally retarded children. This paper presents a case study of this program applied to the mentally retarded who have echo and monologue. The case was a three year old boy with hyperactive, autistic behavior. His speech mainly consisted of echo and monologue. The training procedures, containing motor imitation, word imitation, naming, receptive vocabulary, phrase imitation and performance were used. Chocolate and "good" were used as a reinforcer. The results were as follows: (1) He learned to name odjects. (2) He acquired requests such as "give," "go out." (3) He acquired responsive speech such as "yes," "bye bye." (4) He began to show more interest toward the therapist, his family members and neighbouring persons.

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Even if the foundation of current studies on delicate children has been found in psychosomatic medicine, the defficiency of a methodological consideration, which leads to the comprehensive view-point through these studies, seems to be indicated. This defficiency has brought about the disintegration of current studies which range from medicine and psycholgy to education. In order to deal with this difficulty, it seems to be necessary to base these studies on "holistic humanistic science" founded on the phenomenological or interpersonal approach. In this investigation from the point of view of phenomenological approach, the following ways of studying were suggested: 1. For children disease or physial weakness is really as subjective experiences ("Diseage Image" or Body Image). Accordingly, paramedial investigator as well must be concerned with problems about disease or physical weakness itself. 2. Suffering from disease or physical weakness do not always have negative meaning to children. Some of them may be able to change it to a positive one. Through this change, they realize themselves humanistically healthy being. Accordingly, the purpose of these studies is not always to heal disease or physical weakness.

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We made a follow-up study of the 23 mentally retarded junior high school graduates (14 boys, 9 girls) in Tokyo on their living situations during 2〜5 years after their graduation, interviewing them and their family members. The purpose of the study was to find out the important factors which had influenced on their daily life and work, and to analize their social adaptation. The subjects were divided into 2 groups: A group-the graduates without any behavior problems in their social life. B group-the graduates with some behavior problems in their social life. Our conclusion was as follows; 1) The difference in IQ between A and B groups was statistically non-significant. 2) The difference in their academic records in the 3rd grade of the junior high school was statistically non-significant. 3) A group was better than B group statistically significant in such daily-living behavior records as "keeping things in order," "being obedient to the rules" "taking good care of things" and "having a sense of responsibility." 4) The difference in the evaluation records of their character and behavior traits by the teacher in charge had no statistic significance. 5) 10 students in A group and 8 in B group received the Rorschach test during the 2nd-grade of junior high school. The characteristics of the responses of the A group students were as follows; good reality testing, emotionally controlled state and good human relations but rigid and formal response to others. On the other hand, the B group students were more complicated but showed the tendency of anxiety, tension and poor reality testing. 6) Family background was analized from such view points as intra-familiar human relations, their role and position in their family, and rearing attitude of their parents were as follows; In the families of A-I group there were conflict and frustration when their children were diagnosed as mentally retarded, but gradually they had overcome the critical situation and showed good understanding and support to them. The psychological characteristics of the subjects in this group showed passive attitude to their work and were dependent to their family members, which made them difficult to become socially independent. In A-II group family tie was looser than that of A-I group and family members seemed to be insensitive about social discrimination and prejudice against the mentally retarded. The subjects in this group, however, had had stable relation with their parents or rearers and later this good relation was extended to the school teachers. Thus, they adapted themselvs to the society under the protection of social groups such as schools and working places. Those who failed in social adaptation in B group did not have such acceptance and relations in family or social groups as seen in A-I or A-II groups. It was suggested that the factors favorable to their social adaptation were not found in the good academic records in junior high school, but in good circumstances such as families, schools and working places.

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One can discriminate exactly whether the speaker speaks spontaneously or reads something. It is supposed that the rhythm informs these speech modalities. In this study it would be defined that the rhythm consists of the sound group and the pause. And this hypothesis was estimated by the comparison between the physical discrimination and the auditory discrimination of these modalities by the rhythm. By considering these relations it is expected to discribe one of the auditory or the acoustical abilities. Procedures Physical analysis: Four monologues in two speech modalities were obtained from each of 14 sample subjects. In the one modality, the instructions were to tell stories of two cartoons according to the presented sets of pictures. In the other, the same subject was asked to read two stories attached to the same cartoons at his own speed. All speakers were Japanese undergraduates, and were free of speech disorders or hearing disosders. The tape-recorded speech samples were analyzed through the process of an original electric-transmitter and the "Lectiphory 8s" into the sound-silence patterns on the recording sheets. The sampling rate of duration was 0.3sec. each. And thus Markovian process and measurement of rhythm were predicted. Then, with this physically defined rhythm speech modalities were discriminated objectively. Relations between speech-reading discrimination and perception of rhythms: Five materials were sampled according to measurement of rhythms. Nine subjects were instructed to hear, and judge the speech modalities and the rhythms by the method of paired comparison. Results 1. The results of the tests about frequency distribution showed that the duration time of vocalization in readings was longer than that of speeches, and they also showed that the duration of pause in speech was longer than that of reading. 2. The models of rhythms matched two speech states. And the models of rhythms (Y) were predicted by 55 out of 56 speeches and readings as the function of the Markovian processes and uncertainty. 3. The perception of the rhythm was matched with the rhythm physically measured. 4. The differences between the speech modalities were perceived identically by men. Conclusion Thus the sound group and pause can be supposed to measure one of the auditory or the acoustical abilities.

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