http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/c...f887a.html

I thought Asperger's and retardation COULD NOT go hand in hand. Even if he did have the mental capacity of an 8-year-old, it wouldn't have been because of the Asperger's.


Now everyone's going to think you and I are retarded.

Minor change to the title to keep profanity off the front page. - d

This post was last modified: 07-27-2012 03:33 AM by d_olson27.

Uh.... Seriously?

Confusing one disability with another is not a good thing for anyone, but the real problem is the anti-disablist attitudes.

Common misconception. Asperger's Syndrome can occur in league with mental retardation - but normally such a person would be diagnosed with full-blown autism. To assume that all Aspies are geeky geniuses would be incorrect.

That depends on what version of the story people would be looking at

How does mental retardation occur in the same person who has average or above average intelligence?

The DSM criteria specifically refer to "average or above average intelligence"

The profanity filter is not working on the front page.

I was deeply shocked when I saw this thread.

I would perfer people thinking i was a super-genius than a "retard" though. I guess it's becuase i'm tired of being treated like a 5 year old or less.

Back on topic, why? I mean come on. Seriously? Is this a joke?

Okay how could a 15 year old with the mentality be considered mentally delayed when 8 years old can have the mentality of a 35 year old?  I could be wrong of course.... But even I, in my young adulthood, had done childish things like that.

So am I considered mentally delayed?  

:-/ There are some rare cases of Asperger's that will come along with Developmental Delay. Sometimes it is genetic and sometimes it is caused by something that happened at birth (I mean the developmental delay). It isn't the 15 year old's fault. Usual the gaps between mental and chronological age usually isn't that delayed. A seven year gap though is a bit more delayed.

The 15 year old has a Developmental Delay, but is more delayed than some.

@ Mario- I don't know you that well, so I can't make a judgement call. So for now I'll safely say no.

I think I may be Developmentally Delayed but I'm only speculating on the fact that I have done what this 15 year old did and I think I know why he hid away like he did. He was probably looking for a safe haven or a place to escape or did it the same reason I did what he did.

When I did this (and I feel ashamed admitting this) when I was 19 years old I was actually trying to make it look like I ran away cause I didn't feel loved and felt like I was getting gained up on. I did this for more childish reasons than he did, but when I was his age my bedroom closet was my safe place where I could cry or escape....  

And I appreciate the consideration of not wanting to offend me FM, but I think I was asking more of a rhetorical question as I know most people here will ever call me the MR word and being sarcastic at the same time .....

PS I'm not trying to diagnose myself with everything under the DSM's sun, but I suspect I may have been misdiagnosed a couple of times except with Asperger's as a blood test confirmed I was born with Fragile X Syndrome and behavior testing has confirmed I had Autism when I was 11 years old.........

I made a friend once who had a boyfriend. She came with me to study abroad in Peru, and when I realized she was sneaking around with another guy in Peru, I freaked out (in case you don't know, immorality get me really worked up) and I ran outside and hid under the bushes, and slept there until they started screaming for me.

I am definitely not mentally delayed though. I wonder if they misdiagnosed the kid? Maybe they misinterpret his behavior as indicative of low IQ, when really he just doesn't communicate well?

There was at least one deaf person in the twenties who was convicted of mental retardation and psychosis (not exactly, but that's approximately the experience he had) then locked up and sterilized.  He was simply deaf.

So yes, other disabilities can be mistaken for MR.

This post was last modified: 07-27-2012 06:24 AM by Lang.

Deaf people are also frequently stereotyped as being less intellectually capable than hearing students, because the language and culture barrier has a strong effect on their standardized test scores.

The deaf community are another group, like us, who reject the idea that we need some sort of "cure" to fit in with the Great Herds of Humanity.  We should form an alliance with them.
Alison