- To provide early intervention services to children with mental retardation in the age group birth to 6 years.
- To maximise the resources available in the child in the developmental areas: cognition, communication, motor, socialization and self help as much as they are applicable to age-appropriate developmental tasks.
- To assist the child's family, parents and siblings, in the understanding, caring and management of their child with disability.
- To prepare the child to function as fully as possible alongside the non handicapped persons as an accepted member of the community.
- To empower the parents of such children in the training, care and management of their children.
- To develop programmes of training for children with mental retardation suited to the socio-economic conditions and cultural milieu of the country.
- To disseminate the Early Intervention programme across the country, with training programmes for special educators, volunteers and parents.
- To motivate organisations to set up special schools and provide them technical support.
- To conduct research in the area of mental retardation.
- To develop programmes mobilising the potential of IT in the training of children with mental retardation and association and associated disabilities.
