Final Report, Usage of the Term
“Mental Retardation:” Language, Image and Public Education
Executive Summary
The Resource Network International contracted with the Kansas
University Center for the Study of Family, Neighborhood and
Community Policy to do an in-depth study related to the past
and current use of the term "mental retardation" in the context
of government programs. The Policy Center produced an extensive
research bibliography, five research summaries on relevant questions,
and five sets of notes on selected related topics. This is the
final report of the project. The Kansas University Center on
Developmental Disabilities, the parent organization of the Policy
Center, will present the results to the AAMR Board of Directors
the last week of May, 2002, and will assist AAMR in disseminating
it to the public thereafter.
The contract asked for the answer to four questions the answers
to which are summarized below:
1. What are the trends over the past decade in textbooks
and research articles in their use (including in relationship
to both prognosis and diagnosis) and definition of the term
"mental retardation"?
There are many definitions of mental retardation but four are
the most prevalent, i.e. the AAMR 1992 definition, the DSM IV
1994 definition, The ICD 10 1994 definition, and the APA 1996
definition. Of these, the AAMR definition is the most used in
the U.S. and the ICD 10 definition is the most used outside
the U.S. Textbooks and research articles on the topic of mental
retardation are quite consistent, while other related textbooks
and test manuals are not consistent in their use of an accepted
definition of mental retardation. In the U.S. the AAMR 1992
definition has increased in usage over the past decade. Nearly
all efforts at definition have been directed toward diagnosis
rather than toward prognosis.
2. How does the term "mental retardation" in the U.S. compare
with the terminology in other countries and by international
organizations to describe the same population and characteristics?
The term "mental retardation" is used consistently in the U.
S. far more than other terms. The next most consistent equivalent
term is "intellectual disability", which is used in British
Commonwealth countries and by the International Society for
the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities. The ICD 10
definition, which is essentially the same as the DSM IV definition,
is the most cited definition overall internationally. It uses
the term "mental retardation."Countries often have their own
idiosyncratic terms which they use. Recently, there has been
a move away from the term "mental retardation", but no substitute
has been agreed upon.
3. How and to what extent is the label "mentally retarded"
viewed as pejorative within the general culture and media, by
service professionals and by their families?
The general consensus among activists and responders to surveys,
be they advocates, clinicians, families, parents, or other professionals,
is that the term has negative connotations, although many concede
that any substitute for the same population will also soon develop
stigmatizing qualities. Whether they are representative of the
far larger population of people with mental retardation is unknown.
There is also fear among some that a name change will endanger
entitlement programs, however this is also known. The current
momentum is to change the term.
4. To what extent do changes in the use or definition of
the term "mental retardation" (including the use of other terms)
represent federal and state policy shifts?
With respect to determination of program eligibility, citizenship,
legal status, and criminal justice, there have been few federal
or state policies affected by the use of the term "mental retardation"
in the past 20 years. The one exception is the adoption of the
term "developmental delay" by IDEA 1997 in its Part C (birth
to three) programs. While federal programs uniformly govern
immigration status and eligibility for citizenship, voting,
military service, non-discrimination and equal opportunity protections,
there is considerable variability among states in their laws
concerning termination of parental rights, legal competence,
and competence to stand trial and sentencing.
 Download
the Final Report on Usage of the Term “Mental Retardation:”
Language, Image and Public Education
This is the in-depth study related to the past and current use
of the term "mental retardation" in the context of government
programs. It provides a research bibliography, five research
summaries on relevant questions, and five sets of notes on selected
related topics.
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