[*] Mental Retardation: a Symptom and a Syndrome
by Fred J. Biasini, Ph.D. et al.
Department of Psychology
University of Alabama at Birmingham
To appear in ... Comprehensive Textbook of Child and Adolescent Disorders. New York: Oxford University Press, in press.
Mental retardation is an idea, a condition, a syndrome, a symptom, and a source of pain and bewilderment to many families ... The objective of this chapter is to provide the reader with an overview of mental retardation, a developmental disability with a long and sometimes controversial history ...
A cornerstone event in the evolution of the care and treatment of the mentally retarded was the work of physician Jean-Marc-Gaspard Itard ... Hired in 1800 by the Director of the National Institutes for Deaf-Mutes in France to work with a boy named Victor. Victor, a young boy, had apparently lived his whole life in the woods of south central France and, after being captured and escaping several times, fled to the mountains of Aveyron. At about age 12, he was captured once again and sent to an orphanage, found to be deaf and mute, and moved to the Institute for Deaf-Mutes ... Itard developed a broad educational program for Victor to develop his senses, intellect, and emotions. After 5 years of training, Victor continued to have significant difficulties in language and social interaction though he acquired more skills and knowledge than many of Itard's contemporaries believed possible ... Itard had the opportunity to educate a group of children who were mentally retarded ... Supervised the work of Edouard Seguin ... Seguin developed a comprehensive approach to the education of children with mental retardation, known as the Physiological Method ... In 1850, Seguin moved to the United States and became a driving force in the education of individuals with mental retardation. In 1876, he founded what would become the American Association on Metal Retardation. Many of Seguin's techniques have been modified and are still in use today ... The newly developed test of intelligence developed by Binet was translated in 1908 by Henry Goddard, Director of Research at the training school in Vineland, New Jersey. Goddard published an American version of the test in 1910 ... Edgar Doll developed the Vineland Social Maturity Scale ... As a result of the disillusionment with residential treatment, advocacy groups, such as the National Association of Retarded Citizens and the President's Commission on Mental Retardation, were established in the 1950's through the 1970's. The Wyatt-Stickney federal court action, in the 1970's, was a landmark class action suit in Alabama establishing the right to treatment of individuals living in residential facilities. Purely custodial care was no longer acceptable. Concurrent with this case, the United States Congress passed the Education for the Handicapped Act in 1975, now titled the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This Act guaranteed the appropriate education of all children with mental retardation and developmental disabilities, from school age through 21 years of age ...
Over the next 30 years, the definitions of mental retardation focused on one of three aspects of development: the inability to learn to perform common acts, deficits or delays in social development/competence, or low IQ ... Edgar Doll who proposed that mental retardation referred to "social incompetence, due to mental subnormality, which has been developmentally arrested, which obtains at maturity, is of constitutional origin, and which is essentially incurable" ... As a result of the conflicting views and definitions of mental retardation, a growing number of labels used to refer to individuals with mental retardation ... American Association on Mental Deficiency (Retardation) proposed and adopted a three part definition in 1959. "Mental retardation refers to subaverage general intellectual functioning which originates in the developmental period and is associated with impairment in adaptive behavior" ... A five level classification scheme was introduced replacing the previous three level system ... borderline (IQ 67-83), mild (IQ 50-66), moderate (IQ 33-49), severe (16-32), and profound (IQ <16) were adopted ... The most recent change in the definition of mental retardation was adopted in 1992 by the American Association on Mental Retardation. "Mental retardation refers to substantial limitations in present functioning. It is characterized by significantly subaverage intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with related limitations in two or more of the following applicable adaptive skill areas: communication, self-care, home living, social skills, community use, self-direction, health and safety, functional academics, leisure, and work. Mental retardation manifests before age 18" (American Association on Mental Retardation, 1992) ... This revision eliminated the severity level classification scheme ...
Following a review of the most recent epidemiological studies, McLaren and Bryson (1987) reported that the prevalence of mental retardation was approximately 1.25% based on total population screening ... Individual states report rates from 0.3% to 2.5% depending on the criteria used ...
... The American Association on Mental Retardation subdivides the disorders that may be associated with mental retardation into three general areas: prenatal causes, perinatal causes, and postnatal causes ...
In approximately 20 to 30% of the individuals identified with severe mental retardation the cause has been attributed to prenatal factors, such as chromosomal abnormality ... In 30 to 40% of cases, the cause is reported to be unknown. The etiology of mild mental retardation is much less delineated. Between 45 and 63% of the cases are attributed to unknown etiology ... largest number attributed to multiple factors ( prenatal ) ...
Associated disorders include: epilepsy, cerebral palsy, vision and hearing impairments, speech/language problems, and behavior problems ...

Introduction to Mental Retardation
by The Arc
An individual is considered to have mental retardation based on the following three criteria: intellectual functioning level (IQ) is below 70-75; significant limitations exist in two or more adaptive skill areas; and the condition is present from childhood (defined as age 18 or less) ( AAMR, 1992 ).
What are the adaptive skills essential for daily functioning?
How many people are affected by mental retardation?
How does mental retardation affect individuals?

[*] ARC of the United States
by Arc
The national organization of and for people with mental retardation and related disabilities and their families ...

Developmental Disabilities - Mental Retardation
from CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
An estimated 12 of every 1,000 U.S school children have mental retardation ... Surveillance Activities ...

[*] [P] Mental Retardation
by University of Virginia
What is Mental Retardation.
Approach to Mental Retardation
Understanding Mental Retardation
Children Who are Mentally Retarded

Mental Retardation
by ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education ( ERIC EC ).
Significantly subaverage intellectual functioning means an IQ score of 70 to 75 or below on a standardized individual intelligence test ...

Genetic Causes of Mental Retardation
by AAMR (American Association on Mental Retardation)
The field of genetics has important implications for people with mental retardation. Over 350 inborn errors of metabolism have been identified, most of which lead to mental retardation (Scriver, 19995). Yet, the possibility of being born with mental retardation or developing the condition later in life can be caused by multiple factors unrelated to our genetic make-up ...

AAMR American Association on Mental Retardation
About AAMR

Multiple Congenital Anomaly / Mental Retardation
from United States: National Library of Medicine ( NLM ).
A database of structured descriptions of congenital abnormalities associated with mental retardation.

[*] The ARC's position statements that describe what The Arc believes on critical issues.
by Arc
Sexuality, Education, etc. (a large roster of position papers)

Selected Annotated Bibliography Disability Studies & Mental Retardation
by Steve Taylor & Perri Harris.
Reprinted from Disability Studies Quartery, 16(3), 4-13.
A photographic essay, Social policy & practice, Theory ... Law & Policy ... Parent & Family Issues ...

Myths of Mental Retardation
by Stephen Mallon, Ed.D.
Mental retardation has long been identified with myths that educators and health professionals know as untrue. First myth, "once diagnosed as mentally retarded, a person remains within this classification for the rest of his or her life." The fact is mental functioning does not necessarily remain stable ... Second myth, "retarded individuals go through different learning stages compared to non-handicapped individuals." The rate of learning for the mentally retarded is slower, not different ...

How to Talk to Others About Prevention
by The Arc

Mental Retardation Issues
by amaonline.com
A collection of resources on the internet relating to mental retardation issues ...

Mental Illness in Person with Mental Retardation
by Steven Reiss, Ph.D. et al., Ohio State University and University of Colorado.

Causes and Genetics of Mental Retardation
by The Arc

[Arabic] Introduction to Mental Retardation
يدخل الشخص ضمن فئة الإعاقة الذهنية عند توفر المعايير الثلاثة القادمة: 1- حينما يقل مستوى الأداء العقلي (معدل الذكاء) عن 70-75، 2- عند وجود صعوبات واشحة في مهارات التأقلم (انظر التعريف في الأسفل)، 3- أن تحديث هذه الإعاقة منذ الطفولة (وهي تُعرف بأنها ما دون سن الثامنة عشر) (AAMR, 1992).

[French] Retard mental
by Swiss - Paediatrics
Evaluation de l'enfant avec retard mental
Avec une prévalence d'environ 3% dans la population générale, le retard mental représente un problème médical aussi fréquent qu'important ... terme retard mental s'applique normalement à partir de l'âge de scolarité ... Un diagnostic bien fondé est indispensable pour répondre aux questions critiques des parents: Comment cela est-il arrivé? Une récidive est-elle possible? Y a-t-il un traitement? Quel est le pronostic? ...

[Italian] Mental Retardation
by aipd.it

[Spanish] ESTUDIOS GENÉTICOS EN EL RETRASO MENTAL: )CUANDO REALIZARLOS? ,
by Enrique Galán Gomez etal.
Departamento de Pediatría. Universidad de Extremadura. Badajoz.
Las nuevas técnicas de citogenética molecular y molecular nos permiten en la actualidad el diagnostico de pacientes con retraso mental que hace pocos años no era posible. A pesar de todo, el diagnóstico clínico, sigue siendo fundamental para orientar la demanda de estas técnicas especificas. Por este motivo, sigue siendo indispensable, como en la mayor parte de las ramas de la medicina, una colaboración estrecha entre la genética clínica y de laboratorio...

[Spanish] Introducción a la Retardación Mental
by ARC-AAMR
De acuerdo a la definición nueva de la Asociación Americana sobre la Retardación Mental (AAMR), se considera que un individuo tiene retardación mental basado en los tres criterios siguientes: nivel de funcionamiento intelectual (IQ) está por debajo de 70-75; existen limitaciones significativas en dos o más áreas de destrezas de adaptación y la condición está presente desde la niñez (de 18 años o menos) (AAMR, 1992).