Andhra Pradesh Association for the Welfare of Mentally Retarded (APAWMR for short) is a voluntary social service organization, registered under the Andhra Pradesh (Telengana Area) Public Societies Registration Act, 1350 Fasli (Act I of 1350 F) at Hyderabad on 29th April 1976.

The Association has 58 Institutional members and 102 Life members. The strength of the Institutional members represents the whole State of Andhra Pradesh and almost three-fourths of all institutions for the mentally retarded in the State.

History

1976 - The association was registered by a small group of parents and professionals devoted to the cause of the mentally retarded. In the initial years as there was very little understanding of the problem of mental retardation in Andhra Pradesh. The association concentrated on creating awareness by holding seminars, symposia, workshops and sponsoring teachers for specialized training in mental retardation to institutions outside Andhra Pradesh. APAWMR also devoted considerable resources and effort to bringing out literature in Telugu, Hindi and English, in the form of booklets, pamphlets and reports on management and training of mentally retarded children for the benefit of parents, teachers and para-medicals.

Development of the latent potential of mentally retarded children and their integration with the mainstream, instead of being hidden away by stigmatized parents, were the other key objectives. These objectives were accomplished by the association through a series of programs and competitions in arts and crafts, music and singing, folk dances etc., organized regularly as part of the associations monthly programs. Similarly, recreational needs of these children were also taken care of by arranging occasional outings and picnics.

1984 - Government of India’s National Institute of Mentally Handicapped (NIMH) came into being in Hyderabad

1987 – Two programs launched.

Early Intervention program launched in June 1987 with the support and financial assistance from UNICEF. A pioneering program in respect of infants-at-risk. This program was designed with the home of the infant as the base and aimed at training the mothers in the all-round care and management of infants facing the risk of mental retardation.

The second program launched was the training of mentally retarded children and adults and their sponsorship for participation in Special Olympics at State, National and International levels.