Since we all are here to reflect your thoughts with our great creative and scientific bent of mind, I would just like to ask all of us a question: Have you ever heard of a term called "High Functioning Mental Retardation?".

To those  who are not aware of Mental Retardation I would like to explain them that Mental retardation is a developmental disability that is marked by lower-than-normal intelligence and limited daily living skills. Mental retardation is normally present at birth or develops early in life. And usually mental retardation is more or less genetic and by birth but sometimes it develops in early childhood. Certainly, it is different from mental illness. Mentally retarded could be suffering from mental illness at the same time. But Mentally ill are never categorized as mentally retarded because before the period of the illness they were considered to be  “normal” individuals.  Moreover, mental illness could be treated with Drugs (Psychotherapeutic medications), counseling and psychotherapy and the person can reach to its premorbid or previous condition when the individual functioned normally but mentally retarded individuals though  could enhance  its skills with the help of several professionals  but could never have a so called “normal” condition  or functioning.
So it is thought provoking. Just think before making any such diagnoses as it may affect the patient's treatment as well your own career.

With  due regards to your sentiments, I would just like to ask  you a question then why do we then call it "Mental Retardation" , why cannot we discover of  some better term, when you already  that the individual is highly  functional.

I myself have met few  people which are  functioning as "highly  functional  people" like Prof. Ellen Sachs  diagnosed  as "high functioning Schizophrenia " and  the author of her book "The Center  Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness" and I  have  seen a  girl from Delhi, who was  highly scholastic and scored  almost 99% marks in her every class till then and very good in her knowledge in writing  but rarely she used  to speak  her feelings to her mother even with whom she had the best comfort level as she had  been diagnosed as "High functioning Autism".

My understanding is that these  people are  called as "High functioning" , because they are mentally ill but  at the same time  they  could  escape the  disabilities in intellectual and cognitive functioning because  many of the people with such kind of illnesses could become somewhat dysfunctional but  few  remain as functional as they  were earlier or even emerge  out to be a much more mentally healthy and highly intellectual and cognitively  functional than they were  earlier because of they are no longer imbalance in their  neuro-chemicals released in the brain.

I know that this would help in prognosis of any plan if the person is highly functional. But I  would like express my views  in the following manner:

The child I have seen the diagnoses  as "High functioning MR", (after which I raised  this issue)  has been changed the diagnosis at other  places  as well and all other mental  professionals negated the diagnoses of "Mental Retardation" itself, except the first diagnoses  which was made at this prestigious institute. (I would not like to name the  institute  at any cost as being one of the very good institutes of Mental  Health in  India, that may create a bias amongst the  professionals and my  debate is not against any institution  it is just against the "term", which has been discovered recently,  but I certainly could not  see any logical explanation in its favor  and nor any such research articles). Happening to be somebody related to me somehow he tried to clarify his doubts about the diagnoses. Also, it is sad that after  that he changed the name of his son because after confirmations of several other highly qualified professionals he could not digest the "term Mentally Retarded". I raised this issue because when his parents tried to get admission in some good school and being honest  they went with all his medical reports from that institute, he was denied admission  in that particular school and asked to take him to a school which  is meant for mentally retarded. Later he went to another school with a changed name and he is excelling in  studies has a very good inquisitiveness for mobile and computer technology. You can't imagine he could do  things himself  which I  and you can't even imagine at merely 8 years of  age. He  could play very high intellectual games  like "Soduku" and more over he is so inquisitive that he  would even ask you the highly philosophical but logical and intelligent questions "like what are the parts used in laptop", "how it has been developed"  and "how the internet connectivity functions”-seeing my husband  working on  the laptop. These questions  are  very normal for today's kids , but this raised a kind of alarm  in me about the particular  diagnoses and so  I raised  that question.  Now, my question to all the professional is that Should anyone still call the individual as Mentally Retarded?"

But at the same time I would  say that I am against  calling any person as "Mentally Retarded", when  we all know that individual is highly functional.
You and me as mental health professionals could understand the  meaning of diagnoses as being trained in those  professions but what about those people who are not at all informed about the  diagnoses  we make or very little informed.  I know we need to educate the masses also but at the same time we need to be having more  "social friendly" terms while making such kind of diagnoses.

I am happy that some people are passionate enough and have urge to help such kind of individuals by what they call as diluting the diagnoses but actually  we did not help this individual and this is an example, that before , many  more people like the individual stated above would be denied from mainstream education for the simple reason as stated above,  we need to correct ourselves

 

Dr Smita Pandey Bhat Clinical Psychologist

Email: dr.smitapandey@gmail.com 

 

Url :http://child-psychologist.blogspot.com