Seriously. How is one informed whether or not he or she is mentally retarded?
Is it based on a specific level of intelligence or social behavior?
Are there specific levels of mental retardation used for evaluation that are universally recognised around the world?
Could I be “normal” in one country and diagnosed as mentally disabled in another?
Does asking this question hint at my potential brain damage or is it just another case of subjective ignorance?
What say you all?
-LC
I am retarded. Thank God they can’t prove it in court!!!
The numbers are different on different IQ tests, but retardation is discerned by IQ, with an “idiot” having an IQ of below 20 on standard IQ tests to a “feeble” moron" being 50-70 IQ. Social skills are measured by a fairly new and not universally used system called the “EQ”.
There are piles of regulations from all the different state and federal oversight authorities on just what mentally retarded means. In the end, what you need is a diagnosis of what caused your intellectual development to be impaired.
There are many “levels” of mental retardation, from “borderline” to “profound” and dozens of so called “scales” by which skills are measured, and compared to calendar age. Again, what ends up mattering in the real world is the official opinion of social workers, and doctors. Usually these are organized into “Services boards” “Community rights committees” and other such systems.
Having the legal label makes a lot of difference in your life. It can mean that you can get services to keep you from becoming a lost homeless person, slowly starving into ill health. Or, it can leave you living in an institution which you are not allowed to leave, as a matter of accomplished fact, whatever the paper work says your rights are. It can mean that your responsibility for your actions is entirely abrogated by society’s opinion of your functional ability. It can mean that you are simply below average, and not truly handicapped in the view of the law, and are therefore legally allowed to simply go away, and not bother people anymore.
The label can also affect your own opinions of your self, if it is repeated to you often enough. It can foster a total lack of independent self esteem, and leave you forever seeking approval for your acts, thoughts, desires, and feelings from anyone who has the verbal skill to praise you, or revile you. And it can make you entirely defenseless against people who have their own versions of what sort of life you should lead, and where you should be allowed to lead it. In fact, other than an actual order from a court of law, there is almost nothing more profoundly effective in delimiting the parameters of your entire life than a decision by “Qualified Mental Retardation Professionals” on whether you are retarded, or not.
And, by the way, you aren’t.
Tris
From a purely subjective point of view, I believe that you are retarded or of below normal mental capacity when your ability to learn* falls below a certain (essentially arbitary) level. I don’t know how this is currently measured or what it is measured against.
On the WAIS, which is the standard measure for IQ/cognitive ability in the USA, a score below 70 falls into the “mentally retarded” range. This range is further subdivided into different categories. I’m not familiar with “idiot” or “feeble” moron" as nomenclature for current IQ testing, and it sounds quite outdated to me.
To give you a basis for comparison, the average IQ is 100. An IQ of 70 indicates that the person performed as far below the average person’s performance as a gifted person performs above it. Statistically, the “mentally retarded” range falls at or below two standard deviations below the mean IQ as tested on the WAIS.
If you are concerned about a possible Learning Disability, most universities have (or should have) a centre for students with disabilities (Physical or otherwise). They provide testing and services to help evaluate your situation and to aid you in determining whether a legal/permanent “label” (I don’t like that term - sorry!) should be given to you to aid you in career/educational choices. I have never asked, however I would be highly surprised if your local university would refuse to help you out even if you are a non-student. At the least, they could direct you to local services in the community to help you.
Not all Learning Disabilities are identified at a young age. I have a classmate who is 24 years old, returning to school after a fair amount of time off, but was intimidated because he had always had trouble reading. Primary and secondary school services failed to do what they should have, and diagnose a form of dyslexia (I am fuzzy on the details) but in the end, he was able to identify what was causing him trouble and for the first time manage to work around it.
Our criteria in Canada matches those in the U.S. where a person is deemed mentally retarded if their I.Q falls below 70. Of course, a standard I.Q. test would not be the best tool to assess an individual who is developmentally delayed and I don’t like them, despite the fact they would indicate I have an I.Q. of 143. If my I.Q. was really this high I should be able to figure everything out… shouldn’t I? And perhaps I wouldn’t write such damned long sentences.
I work with a significant number of the aforementioned developmentally delayed individuals and the term “mentally retarded” is rarely used by myself or any of my colleagues. The term is appropriate but carries negative connotations, something Trisk pointed out very eloquently.
LC - without being able to observe you and do some testing I wouldn’t be able to determine if you are or are not mentally or socially retarded. 
When we perform assessments we look at a broad range of skills and abilities that a person may or not possess and we use a variety of testing tools for different individuals depending on their overall functional abilities.
Social skills and the ability to learn them and put them into practice are very important, most of the individuals I work with have moderate to severe deficiencies in this area.
I work with one individual who suffers from Aspergers Syndrome. This condition falls within the spectrum of autism and related disorders. He lived 35 of 40 years without being properly diagnosed and never knew why he was different from everyone else. Because people did not recognize his disability they were not as effective as they could be when it came to teaching him new skills. With a proper diagnosis and the retraining of staff he has made astounding progress. I remember the day I explained to him what Asperger’s Syndrome was and how it affected his perceptions and thought processes. He’s a very intelligent guy and this simple revelation answered a multitude of questions. Anyways, when tested he scores very highly in every area except one, social development and interaction. It came as no surprise to me.
It is the learned opinion of myself and many others that Bill Gates suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome. He meets the criteria in that he is scientifically gifted yet is socially delayed. He exhibits classic autistic behaviour as he rocks when he’s working. Temple Grandin, an animal behaviouralist, lecturer, and sufferer of Aspergers Syndrome identifies Bill as someone like her.
Anyways… I wandered off there for a minute. This probably has something to do with the fact I got up 18 hours ago and put in the day from hell. My I.Q. has probably dropped 40 points due to exhaustion…
LC… I don’t think you’re retarded. I’m not sure about myself though.
But then again… I see that this OP was posted twice.
“Hampsters to left of me, jokers to right…here I am…stuck in the middle again”.
Thank you all for the awesome replies!
-LC
Of course, it’s important to bear in mind that some people learn more easily through visual channels, e.g. reading, while others do better by having the concept explained orally.
Keep in mind though, a learning disability is VERY different from mental retardation. Often, those with learning disabilities have very high-at least above average-IQ scores.