The skills needed to function normally in everyday settings, including self-help skills, communication skills, and social skills; a general process of development that begins in infancy as a baby makes “contact” with and begins to communicate with those around him or her and learns from them how to do all the things that will—years down the line— result in the baby becoming an independent person. In relation to developmental screening tests and other tests for young children, such as the Gesell Preschool Tests, the term “adaptive behavior” is often used to mean behavior indicating that a child can learn how to approach new tasks by watching how others do the tasks and then imitating them. Among children with mental retardation, the development of adaptive behavior is key to relatively independent functioning as an adult.