Successful Ministry to the Retarded[ETowns] - Elmer Towns

general intellectual functioning, (2) which originates during the developmental period, and (3) isassociated with impairments in adaptive behavior." 18Definitions of mental retardation are developed along numerous lines of interest and inquiry,however, as our knowledge of this problem increases, the definitions of mental retardation willbecome more precise.The term feeblemindedness was common to American literature until approximately 1945, 19but today it is rarely used in the United States because of its acquired undesirable connotations.To this point, no term other than mental retardation has been introduced; however, the conditionof retardation also has been identified by Savage as amentia; by Segar as imbecillites; by Vogel asFatuitas ingenii; by Linnaeus as morosis; by Fodere as demence inee; by Willis as stupiditas; byPinel as idiotism; by some English writers and by Esquirol and the majority of encyclopedias anddictionaries as idiocy. 20 Another label given is mental deficiency, a term generally used in amanner synonymous with the AAMD concept of mental retardation. This type of definition,which differentiates retardation from deficiency, frequently appear in psychological and medicalliterature. 21CLASSIFICATION OF MENTAL RETARDATIONAfter considerable experience in applying the Binet-Simon Scale to institutionalized patients,Henry Goddard, 22 one of the first to introduce the work of Binet and Simon into this country,recommended a system of classification according to test ratings as follows: idiots, those with amental age up to and including two years; imbeciles, those with a mental age of from three toseven years inclusive; morons, those with a mental age of from eight to twelve years. 23 Theseterms are now used infrequently and are nearly extinct. Today, as society becomes moreaccepting, we prefer to use terms with a more sophisticated connotation.The AAMD classification of measured intelligence is divided into five categories: borderline,mild, moderate, severe, profound. The boundaries of each division will vary from test to test.The American Psychiatric Association organizes the subnormal into three groups: mild,moderate, severe. The association considers mild to mean individuals with IQ in the 75 to 85range, moderate in the 50 to 75 range, and severe in the 0 to 50 range. 24The classification established by the American Psychiatric Association, although useful as aframe of reference, does not conform to current practices in the field. This classification tends tolead to oversimplification of something very complex and perplexing. Moreover, within eachlevel there are wide differences of ability and potentiality, and overlapping is considerable betweenlevels. Recognizing these fallacies, the National Association for Retarded Children suggests thefollowing:marginal-dependent (educable)semi-dependent (trainable)dependent (total care ). 25The educable mentally retarded pupil has been defined as having IQ scores between 50 and 75and as having, or a prognosis that they will have, learning difficulties in the regular grades. 26Children who are classified as trainable have been defined as having IQs from about 30 or 35 to50 or 55. This means that they develop intellectually at about one-third to one-half the rate of theaverage child. 27 Custodial, or nursing, mentally defective children, are those who are almost