Mental Retardation

Question: **Mental Retardation**? I know someone with Mental Retardation is their a way to get rid of it if she's only 15? soon to be 16.

Answer: In general, no, but there always are exceptions. Mental retardation is defined in the DSM-IV-TR as an IQ below 70 and a certain degree of dysfunction. It is possible through intensive education and skills training that someone with an IQ in the 60's could function well enough to not be considered mentally retarded anymore, even though they were as a child. I like what Forrest Gump's mom said, "stupid is as stupid does." Of course, that was a movie. People are people. Some have brain differences. Love your friend just as she is.

Question: In mental retardation, how is the emotional state related to the intellectual development? I read the short story Flowers for Algernon and the main character is Mental retardation affects his emotional state and intellectual development. As he gets smarter, his emotional state changes to a more aggressive state. But what is the relationship between emotion and intelligence in general?

Answer: To me, there is little correlation in the normal range. Of course, if one occupies a fringe position by being extremely intelligent or cognitively deficient, he may tend to manifest some dysfunctional emotional behavior.

Question: Any ideas for activities for individuals with mental retardation or developmental disabilities? I work in a day program with adults who have all different stages of mental retardation. We are looking for activities in which our clients can participate. We really want to get new materials so they aren't bored with the same old stuff. It can be anything from crafts, games, and community adventures. We have all levels of functioning so all ideas are welcome. Any useful websites with ideas, crafts, or anything would be greatly appreciated.

Answer: umm...this is more for younger kids but it is great! www.makinglearningfun.com

Question: What's the difference between autism and mental retardation? Inside a special needs magazine there is a separate category and section for autism vs. mental retardation. What are the differences between these disorders? I had thought they were the same thing.

Answer: It is quite wrong to say that the vast majority of people with autism are also mentally retarded when quite the opposite is true. It is people who are incredibly intelligent who are more susceptible to being affected by autism because they are more sensitive to toxins in the environment, which triggers autism. Autism is like a barrier, a wall making it difficult for people with autism to express themselves. When people can't express themselves properly it is very frustrating for them and children who are affected often tantrum. My daughter has high functioning autism and gets straight A's in school. She won't look you in the eye though or have a long conversation with you because autism is in her way. I can assure you there is no mental retardation there. She is brilliant...knew all her states and capitals before she was 2 and could read at age 3 and this is just for starters.

Question: What are adaptive skills when referring to mental retardation? What are adaptive skills when dealing with mental retardation? I know what mental retardation is however I don't know the "adaptive skills". Could someone please explain and define asap. Thanks.

Answer: An adaptive skill is when I use my perception to achieve the expected goal of what others want. I can play a piano. I can adaptively play the piano so it sounds like Chopin. Its kinda hard to explain from my point of view. Adaptive behavior is the collection of conceptual, social, and practical skills that people have learned so they can function in their everyday lives. Significant limitations in adaptive behavior impact a person's daily life and affect the ability to respond to a particular situation or to the environment. It has to do with alotta junk that is Social and Societal Acceptance, So I can play the piano the way I like to hear it, or I can adjust to societies standards and play old boreing Ludwig Van Beethoven, Actually Ludwig is pretty good. But he misses a few Sharps in the 8th bar of the 2nd Movement Symphony 9.

Question: What are some creative art activities to use with students who have mental retardation? I volunteer at the North Mississippi Regional Center for Mental Retardation. I work in a classroom with seven students, all of which have mental retardation. Some of the students are more handicapped than others in terms of physical ability. I need some creative ideas for their "art time" that the class as a whole would enjoy.

Answer: +Finger painting +Coloring on a big sheet of paper, together, to make one big picture +Taking bits of colored felt (scraps) in different shapes & gluing to colored paper. +Ditto with scraps of multicolored construction paper (left overs from other classes is fine--recycle! +Put single thumbprints onto small squares of white or colored semi-stiff paper, with poster paints. Put their names on the back. Later, you turn them into cute shapes--ladybugs, etc. with black pens. +Use Markers on those black "fuzzy pictures". They look nice no matter how you color them and are pretty inexpensive! Ask parents to donate a dollar or two to buy the fuzzy pictures, if needed. Then give to the kids to take home, for their bedrooms. + Make their own bookmarks with poster paints, fingerpaints, on stiff posterboards. Sell for 10 or 25 cents as a fundraiser for the class to do something special. + Teach watercolor..cheap but beautiful. Frame the best pictures in black construction paper. Some could be sold & the money used for a class project or given to the child & family.

Question: How can you become a legal advocate for people with mental retardation? I want to be a public defender. Can I find a job focused on defending people with mental retardation?

Answer: That's a very noble gesture, but, why the fixation on one particular area of law, I mean, as a public defender, shouldn't being an advocate for anyone wrongly accused of a crime be more apropos, considering, the lack of screening, of victims caught up in the "justice" machine, where does one draw the line between "mental retardation" and "criminally insane" AND just plain "innocent",especially when "bias" in the court system is rampant. If you really want to be an advocate for "mentally challenged " citizens, being a "public defender" for them, will ,rip your heart out,slam it to the ground, and stomp on it. But, good luck in your endeavors.

Question: Can a child have both Mental Retardation and Autism at the same time? Someone I'm aware of claims that her child has both Autism and Mental Retardation as well as "Delayed Development". Would not MR mask or replace any Autism and would not "Delayed Development" also be a by product of the MR condition? This person's explanation sounds very fishy to me. Claire, Mental Retardation IS a medical term and it IS a condition. If you have nothing useful to add then don't bother answering.

Answer: It sounds to me like she's self diagnosing, next thing the kid will have ADHD because she can't control them, from what I understand both Delayed Development and Mental Retardation are both blanket terms not actual complaints, so yes the child could be Autistic and she's just looking into it too much or maybe the kid is just slow at picking things up. So yeah, maybe she just wants sympathy or attention, but take any 'diagnosis' with a pinch of salt.

Question: Mental retardation is a correct term. How many think it should be changed? I'm writing a reflection paper on mental retardation and I'm just taking a poll of how many people either think the term is wrong or whether it has just gotten a bad stigma. Do you prefer a different term? What's everyone's thoughts? Yes the term mental retardation is still the correct term it is still "politically correct." Please if you feel the need to tell me that it is not the correct term go and look up the information first because you will be wrong.

Answer: I'm not sure what good that would do to change it. Whatever term we use will eventually be used in a joking way anway--there's no way to stop that from happening. Words like "idiot", "moron" "imbecile", and "mental defective" used to be real clinical terms. Words like "special", "exceptional" and "mentally challenged" are already being used as insult words just like "retard." We are still going to need a word to use for people whose IQ is lower than 70. "Learning Disabled" or "Learning Disordered" won't do because you can have a learning disability and a normal IQ. "Mentally Challenged" just sounds funny to me; I can't believe psychologist and doctors are going to use that term and I don't see why anyone would think it sounds better. The correct terms in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders are: Mild Mental Retardation (IQ 50-69) Moderate Mental Retardation (IQ 40-50) Severe Mental Retardation (IQ 20-40) Profound Mental Retardation (IQ under 20) Mental Retardation Severity Unspecified (an exact IQ can't be determined) Borderline Intellectual Functioning (IQ 70 to 83; lower than average but not MR). Autism and mental retardation are not mutually exclusive; some people are diagnosed with both, they are two different things. However, it is true that some people with Autism are mistakenly labelled MR because they might not be responsive or cooperative with IQ testing. "Cognitively impaired" doesn't work because it could also mean dementia; which is not the same thing as mental retardation. My grade school records said "mentally retarded" too, until they actually tested my IQ. That was in the 1960s and they didn't have categories for learning disorders back then.

Question: Can listening to the same songs over and over again lead to mental retardation? My mother keeps playing the same ridiculous songs over and over again while she's working out, (she only got one CD and thats why she keeps playing the same stuff) and she sings along. This has been going on for about six months, and ever since I notcied that she's getting increasingly thicker every passing day. Can listening to the same music all the time lead to stupidity or mental retardation?

Answer: no - not to actual mental retardation. though repeated music, 24 hours a day, is a form of brainwashing, maybe even torture.