Presented at the Council for Exceptional Children Conference, Denver, CO, 2011.

1. BY JANET VANHECK
NOVEMBER 2010
The Change of the Term ‘Mental
Retardation’ to ‘Intellectual
Disability’

2. Current Status
‘Intellectual Disability’ now covers the same
population of individuals who were previously
diagnosed with ‘mental retardation.’
Considerable and intense discussion in the field.
Current classification system was developed in 2002
by an international committee.

3. 5 Trends in the Field of ID
Ecological perspectives that bases the definition of
ID on a multidimensional model.
Disablement as a limitation in function.
Multidimensionality of intellectual disabilities.
Linking assessment to intervention.
The importance of clinical judgment.

4. Construct of Intellectual Disability
ID is viewed within the overall context of disability.
The construct of intellectual disability belongs within
the general construct of disability.
ID is no longer considered an absolute trait of the
person.

5. Terminology
When those with disability have objected to the
terms, such terms have to be discarded.
Becomes important to protect this new term from
taking on the stigma of earlier expressions.
The term should support self-advocacy and
political correctness.
The term will likely have a wider acceptance
internationally.

6. The Definition
“Intellectual disability is characterized by significant
limitations both in intellectual functioning and in
adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social,
and practical adaptive skills. This disability
originates before age 18.”
A definition can make someone eligible, exempted,
included, or entitled.

7. Human Functioning:
5 Dimensions
Intellectual abilities – general mental capability.
Adaptive behavior – skills that people learn to
function in their everyday lives.
Health – WHO defines it as a state of complete
physical, mental, and social well being.
Participation – the functioning of the individual in
society.
Context – environmental factors make up the
physical and social environment in which people
live.

8. Historical:
Negative Construction
Many terms to describe persons with ID: mental
deficiency, mental subnormality, imbecile, idiot,
feeble-minded.
Exclusion of people with intellectual disabilities is
inherent in Western culture.
To have mental retardation was to be defective.
Inferior mental performance characterized by
mental slowness or retardation.

9. Historical Overview
The term mental retardation can be traced to the
early 20th
century.
The word retard refers to slowness. Mental
retardation is mental slowness.
Intellectual disability is quite different from
mental retardation.
ID is the fit between the person’s capacity and the
context in which he or she functions.
ID refers to a state of functioning, not a condition.

10. Historical Reconstruction
During the last half of the 20th
century, it was clear
that the concept was changing.
A new way of thinking about disability emerged.
Focus on functional limitations, personal well-being,
individual supports, and personal competence and
adaptations.

11. Historical Approaches
Social approach – people with ID did not adapt
socially to their environment.
Clinical approach – a medical view that included
heredity and pathology.
Intellectual approach – intelligence tests and IQ
scores.
Dual-criterion approach – impairments in
maturation, learning, and social adjustment.

12. Legal Requirements
Laws provide funding for families with a child with
ID or for adults with the disability.
Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of
Right Act
Social Security
 Disability Insurance Program
 Supplemental Security Income Program
 Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant

13. Policy and Practice
Functional limitations – how persons with ID are
limited in their capacity to function.
Personal well-being – policy evaluation should
focus on increased independence, productivity, and
community integration.
Individualized supports – eligibility, classification
& funding should be based on the supports needed
for each person.
Personal competence – shift from a personal trait
to a functional limitation that can be eliminated.

14. Recommendations
Protecting the new term – based on disability
literature.
The future of the field of ID – promote a better
understanding.
Future research – causes; relation to disability.

15. Predictions
Future research will help us better understand ID
and its relationship to disability.
The future depends on members of society and
how they interact with people with disabilities.
We will try to better understand the nature of
intelligence, adaptive behavior, and disablement.
The 2002 definition of ID will continue to be
advanced by the American Association for
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.