# Physical strength, sex drive, and the mentally handicapped. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 5, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336 "2012-07-05T18:14:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gvozd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gvozd/32/7301_2.png) [@gvozd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gvozd)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/21 "2012-07-06T18:05:46Z")
I just can say that my therapist confirmed the fact that some people who suffer from schizophrenia might have a higher sex drive. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/22 "2012-07-06T18:30:29Z")
> [@gvozd](#): > > I just can say that my therapist confirmed the fact that some people who suffer from schizophrenia might have a higher sex drive. Fact?? ---
**Author:** ![Mithras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/23 "2012-07-06T18:43:03Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Fact?? I’d say it’s an indisputable fact that SOME people with schizophrenia MIGHT have a higher (than some unstated level) sex drive. It’s also a fact that I used to work one-on-one with special needs individuals and observed that neither their physical abilities nor sex drives were at all remarkable. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheField](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@LilyoftheField](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheField)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/24 "2012-07-06T18:48:28Z")
> [@gvozd](#): > > I just can say that my therapist confirmed the fact that some people who suffer from schizophrenia might have a higher sex drive. Interesting. I’d be willing to bet that some people who don’t suffer from schizophrenia also might have a higher sex drive. Or not. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/25 "2012-07-06T18:54:49Z")
> [@Mithras](#): > > It’s also a fact that I used to work one-on-one with special needs individuals and observed that neither their physical abilities nor sex drives were at all remarkable. Out of curiosity, does their libido ever create difficulties for special needs folks? ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/26 "2012-07-06T18:58:10Z")
> [@Really Not All That Bright Tard](#): > > I don’t get it. hah ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/27 "2012-07-06T19:44:39Z")
Not only did I miss the cones thing, I have no idea waht this means: > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I urge anyone else, before posting in this thread, to do something I did not do before posting: read the OP’s name. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/28 "2012-07-06T19:50:10Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I urge anyone else, before posting in this thread, to do something I did not do before posting: read the OP’s name. I’m not sure how this is relevant. The OP has been on the SD for seven years and I can’t think of how their name could be reasonably related to the thread or indicate that the OP may have had a specific motivation in signing up related to this post. Did their name change in the last 24 hours? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/29 "2012-07-06T20:16:16Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Out of curiosity, does their libido ever create difficulties for special needs folks? Why should it be any different for them than anyone else? It’s tough enough for me to figure out the inflation instructions without help. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![The\_Dord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@The\_Dord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Dord)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/30 "2012-07-06T20:43:35Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > I’m not sure how this is relevant. The OP has been on the SD for seven years and I can’t think of how their name could be reasonably related to the thread or indicate that the OP may have had a specific motivation in signing up related to this post. > > Did their name change in the last 24 hours? Yeah this confused me as well! It’s like.. What does diamonds have to do with sexual and physical prowess with being handicapped?? ---
**Author:** ![Mithras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/31 "2012-07-06T20:53:21Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > > [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > > > Out of curiosity, does their libido ever create difficulties for special needs folks? > > Why should it be any different for them than anyone else? > > It’s tough enough for me to figure out the inflation instructions without help. > > Regards, > Shodan My knowledge of the subject comes only from the four years I spent in the field. I don’t have a degree in special education. Additionally, my experience was limited almost exclusively to aggressive males aged 11-18 (but with some outliers in either direction). Anyway, it’s different in that there’s the concern that an individual who is lacking in social awareness is going to engage in sexual behaviors that will get them into trouble. This was voiced several times by parents whose sons were entering/going through puberty. Personally, it was not an issue I ran into with one minor exception. There was a 22 year old completely non-verbal client I visited in a group home who would occasionally begin to gratify himself while in the common area. All you had to do was suggest he go back to his room for some privacy and the situation was resolved. He was also the only client to send me to a doctor, landing a kick on the side of my knee. Fun times. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/32 "2012-07-06T20:56:02Z")
> [@The\_Dord](#): > > Yeah this confused me as well! > > It’s like.. What does diamonds have to do with sexual and physical prowess with being handicapped?? It isn’t a play on words. It is a reference to other notorious threads the OP has started. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Dord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@The\_Dord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Dord)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/33 "2012-07-06T20:59:36Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > It isn’t a play on words. It is a reference to other notorious threads the OP has started. I just figured that out outside of the edit window! :smack::smack: ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/34 "2012-07-06T23:35:42Z")
No insight as to the nature of it, but I’ve also heard the term “retard strength” before. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/35 "2012-07-07T01:00:24Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > No insight as to the nature of it, but I’ve also heard the term “retard strength” before. Isn’t the word retard a verb which means slow or impede, so retard strength could just mean weaken. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/36 "2012-07-07T01:26:43Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > Isn’t the word retard a verb which means slow or impede, so retard strength could just mean weaken. Your thinking re-_tard_; he’s say _re_-tard (strength). ---
**Author:** ![kp\_72110](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e68b1a/32.png) [@kp\_72110](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kp_72110)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/37 "2012-07-07T03:15:22Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I agree with **Skald** ’s ass, and not for the first time. > > Regards, > Shodan I’d really like to see the photo of an ass posting. Would round out my collection nicely. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/38 "2012-07-07T07:06:13Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > No insight as to the nature of it, but I’ve also heard the term “retard strength” before. [I first heard the term used here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqGBszdEGf4) ---
**Author:** ![hamwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/0ea827/32.png) [@hamwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hamwater)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336/39 "2012-07-07T21:20:52Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > No, just the cones. Golf clap. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-strength-sex-drive-and-the-mentally-handicapped/627336.md?page=1)