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Show Advocacy program planned by Mental Retardation of the retarded by working in such areas as communications, self-reliance, grooming and physical dexterity. The advocate may act on behalf of the retarded person to obtain help with legal, medical, social, educational and other professional services." To help train potential advocates ad-vocates and act in an advisory role to Mr. Seals in this area are: Mr. Les Jones, Assistant Professor of Psychology at SUSC; Mr. Jack Stokes, Professor of Sociology at SUSC; Mr. Charles Brinkerhoff, Special Education Instructor at Cedar City High School; Virginia Higbee, Coordinator for Volunteers in Community Service Ser-vice at SUSC; Phillip S. Truman, Volunteer Programs Coordinator for the five county Family Life Services; and Wilma Esplin, MRAU County Chapter Chairman. There are many retarded people in Southern Utah who need this special kind of friend, explained Mr. Seals. But volunteers are needed. He is available to any interested group as a speaker to discuss the program. A film and slide presentation have been developed to explain in greater detail the purposes and goals of the Advocacy project. For more information contact Mr. Seals at MRAU offices in Salt Lake City, or Les Jones or Virginia Higbee in Cedar City. For many peoe the words 'mental retardation' conjures up images of unfortunate though untrainable human beings tucked away in the protective confines of a facility where he is cared for but not really taught. For others the image is essentially essen-tially blurred, with no definite idea of what the affliction really is. Fortunately in Utah things have changed. The Utah State Training School for instance, is a modern, professional facility treating and teaching the mentally retarded citizens of the state in many various capacities. For those who do not reside at the school, new and dynamic programs are beginning to meet previously unmet needs of the mentally retarded. More than 3 percent of the population is retarded to some degree. That's more than 6'i million Americans including 33,000 in Utah. Mental Retardation Retar-dation is any condition in which the brain is prevented from reaching its full development. It is not curable and is not the same as mental illness. To help meet this overwhelming over-whelming need is the Advocacy Project for the Developmentally Disabled, a new state-wide program sponsored by the Mental Retardation Association of Utah (MRAU). The Association is an independent volunteer organization of parents and friends, which has been serving the retarded citizens of Utah since 1948. Mr. Dennis Seals, the Advocacy Ad-vocacy Project Director, has been in Southern Utah recently, identifying mentally retarded citizens who could use the services ser-vices of an advocate. He has also been seeking individuals interested in-terested in becoming advocates for mentally retarded persons in the area. Mr. Seals said an advocate is "a caring individual or group who acts on behalf of a mentally retarded person. The advocate may help fulfill individual needs |