OBJECTIVE To determine the prospects for independent functioning in society of children born with meningomyelocele who are receiving maximal treatment. METHODS Retrospective descriptive. METHODS University Hospital Groningen, the Netherlands. METHODS Data were collected in 1994 regarding personal care, mobility, education, living conditions and employment of 163 patients alive and born in 1966-1990. They were divided into three groups according to their age, corresponding to the primary school period (n = 47), secondary school period (n = 37) and subsequent education or employment period (n = 79). All data were related to the level of the neurological lesion. RESULTS A higher level of the neurological deficit corresponded with a lower probability of functioning independently in society. This was mainly caused by the concomitant mental handicap that occurs frequently in children with a high neurological deficit. Nine out of 46 adult patients with a deficit higher than LIII were living independently. Eleven of these 46 patients were (or had been) capable of attending regular education, and 7 of these 11 patients had a regular job. CONCLUSIONS The prospects of children born with a meningomyelocele of reaching independence are relatively poor, depending on the level of neurological deficit.