A STUDY WAS MADE TO DETERMINE WHETHER MENTALLY RETARDED CHILDREN PREFER SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED ART ACTIVITIES TO THE MORE TRADITIONAL ONES, AND TO TEST THE EFFECTS ON CENTRAL MOTOR SKILLS, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, ART, AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR. ELEMENTARY, JUNIOR HIGH, AND SENIOR HIGH STUDENTS IN SPECIAL CLASSES WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS. NEW ART PROGRAMS WERE INITIATED IN EXPERIMENTAL CLASSES AND TRADITIONAL PROGRAMS WERE CONDUCTED IN SIX CONTROL CLASSES. ANECDOTAL RECORDS OF BEHAVIORAL REACTIONS, INDEPENDENT JUDGMENTS OF THE ART PRODUCTS, PREFERENCE QUESTIONNAIRES, GRADES IN ALL SUBJECTS, TEST RESULTS FROM MENTAL MATURITY AND ACHIEVEMENT TESTS, TEACHER EVALUATIONS OF STUDENT GROWTH, BEHAVIOR, AND INTEREST, AND OTHER MEASURES PROVIDED DATA FOR COMPARING THE EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS. THE GENERAL PATTERN DERIVED FROM THE DATA INDICATES THAT THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM IS CONSISTENTLY MORE EFFECTIVE IN ALTERING CHARACTERISTICS OF BEHAVIOR WITH THE YOUNGER CHILDREN. THE TREND IS NOTED FOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, MOTOR SKILLS, AND MEASURES OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOR. THE SAME PATTERN IS ALSO REFLECTED IN THE MEASURES RELATED TO ASPECTS OF ART BEHAVIOR. AS EVIDENCED BY A LESSER DEGREE OF DIFFERENTIATION AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL, THERE SEEMS TO BE A RANGE OF DEVELOPMENT BEYOND WHICH ALTERATION OR A SHIFT IN EMPHASIS HAS MINIMAL EFFECT. IN FACT, AN ATTEMPT TO ALTER BASIC PATTERNS OF PERFORMANCE AT THIS LEVEL SEEMS TO HAVE A DISTURBING EFFECT AND MAY RESULT IN A SUSPENSION OF THE GROWTH CURVE. WHILE THIS PROJECT DID NOT EXTEND LONG ENOUGH TO FURTHER EXPLORE THIS OCCURRENCE, IT WOULD SEEM LIKELY THAT THIS WOULD BE OF A TEMPORARY NATURE PROVIDED CONSISTENCY EXISTS WITHIN THE PROGRAM. (GC)