Does Autism=Mental Retardation?

Question

To me it's the same thing I think they just gave it a new name so they can make tons of cash off these kids and parents with the books,therapy,medications, it's a cash cow and they are selling false hope to desperate parents why don't they just tell the truth tell the parents that their child has BD aka behavior disorder or feeble-minded,moronic?

Answer 1

You are moronic!

Answer 2

Autism is a disorder.  Mental retardation is merely a way of easily saying a person has a type of disorder.  Many many disorders fall under 'mental retardation'.  Also, someone with a very low IQ (I believe it is 70 or below) is considered mentally retarded.  

That being said, not all people with Autism have IQs under 70.  That means they are not mentally retarded, just autistic.  Does that make sense?

Answer 3

WRONG, They are not the same!!

Answer 4

Two totally different problems.  

Answer 5

There is so many levels of autism but it does not mean the person is mentally retarded. It is best discussed with a neurologist and pediatrician and test be given to figure out the degree of autism. A lot of research is being done in this field too.

Answer 6

Down Syndrome and Autism are two different things.  

Down Syndrom (mental retardation) is caused by a genetic disorder where the child inherits too many chromosomes.  

Autism is a brain development disorder.  In an article of wikipedia it states  "Autism has a strong genetic basis, although the genetics of autism are complex and it is unclear whether ASD is explained more by multigene interactions or by rare mutations."

People with Down Syndrome usually cannot use their brains to the fullest potential, while Autistic children can use their brains, but usually have bizarre obsessions and perhaps social disorders.

People with Autism can be savants because of their different mind set.  As wikipedia says,"An estimated 0.5% to 10% of individuals with ASD show unusual abilities, ranging from splinter skills such as the memorization of trivia to the extraordinarily rare talents of prodigious autistic savants."

Kim Peek (also known as The Real Rainman), who is not Autistic but was born with macrocephaly remembers pretty much every bit of information that goes into his head.  He reads a book in about an hour and remembers approximately 98.7% of everything he has read.

Answer 7

no two differrent things but some people on the lower functioning end of the autistic spectrucm have both

Answer 8

Autism means a kid has trouble with social skills. He can't understand body language and subtlety the same way "normal" people can.

Retardation is an actual lack of brain power. Most autistic kids have very high IQs. Some even claim that Autism is part of the spectrum that gives us genius and that most if not all geniuses are autistic.

Answer 9

you are so wrong. children with autism are not always retarded. I know quite a few children with autism and it is not the autism that makes them need help...it is the co-diagnosis. One girl I know has aspergers syndrome, but she ALSO has bipolar disorder and that is the more handicapping disorder for her.

My own 12 year old son has a very mild disorder called "PDD-NOS" that falls on the autism spectrum. It is so mild that he spent SIX YEARS in mainstream classes before the diagnosis was made. Do you really think that SIX teachers would not realize it if my son were retarded. He even tests at an advanced level in math and science...that is so not retarded. He has little "quirks" that place him on the spectrum...like he is very literal, he sometimes does not know how to act in a situation, he has trouble controlling and expressing his anger and other emotions, he gets upset and has violent rages easier than other children. He also has a kick butt long term memory (and a crappy short term one). If something or someone interests him he will remember them after a full year of not seeing them or hearing about them, he will even recall part of a conversation that took place.

people like you need to get off YA and start researching  google before making blanket statements about things they have no clue about. It just makes you look retarded when you speak without doing your research first.

Answer 10

No, those are not the same, those are two different things. Some people have both autism and mental retardation, but not all autistics have mental retardation and not everyone who has mental retardation has autism.

You are very ignorant and moronic yourself.

Answer 11

I think you need to do some research before you make feeble minded moronic statements as this.

I do not even know much about either one but it is obvious they are two seperate things. Children with autism can be very intelligent, children with mental delays might never have the IQ higher than a three year old depending on what types of delays they have.

We have made advances in the medical world and children that have had certain disorders were all lumped into the same category. Now they have a name for it, as well as ADD when I was in school those kids were just called hyper and out of control.  

Answer 12

To a degree it does.  But milder forms of autism are simply behavioral issues where as severe autism falls under mental retardation (in my understanding).  The books, therapies and medications are not simply "cash cows" and false hope. These things are highly beneficial if the child truly has autism or a mental disability.  I think you need to be a bit more sensitive towards these children and their parents.  Until you've had a child with mental retardation or autism, you have no idea how hard it is.

Answer 13

Autism is a developmental disorder and is on a spectrum. Individuals affected may have varying degrees of learning difficulty/disability depending where they are on the spectrum.

Your use of words like "feeble-minded" and "moronic" are offensive in the extreme and serve to underline your ignorance of the subject.

Answer 14

There are many different types of mental retardation.  Autism, in and of itself is not mental retardation though there are some autistics who are mentally retarded.  Looking from the outside in autism and mental retardation often look really similar and often times the struggles faced by families and individuals with autism are the same to those affected by mental retardation.  I think the best way of thinking of autistics is like thinking of people just born with an entirely different culture.  If you have ever gone to another country they may act different and just expect you to get things and you are totally confused about what is going on.  That is what it is like for an autistic person.  Some people are more immersed in this autistic culture at birth.  Our world just doesn't make sense to them.  An Anthropologist On Mars is a great book to read to understand autism better.  There are a lot of people out there trying to make a buck off of the autism epidemic, but there are also many sound therapies and treatments available as well.

Answer 15

Don't be a douche.  The terms are not synonymous.  I'm related to someone who's borderline autistic.  Maybe you should do some research on what the condition(s) are formed from before you make these moronic sweeping generalizations.  You've got some nerve.

Answer 16

it depends on what kind of autism

answer please

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 17

Please do some research before making such ignorant statements.  Many people with autism actually have genius IQ's.  They can be absolutely brilliant people.  To compare autism to mental retardation would be like equating cancer with AIDS.

Answer 18

Absolutely NOT! Autism does not mean the person is cognitively disabled. Actually many autistic kids and adults are extremely intelligent and often are gifted. They lack social skills and are often labeled "an odd duck" because they do not behave or know how to act in social situations. In more extreme cases these students need a lot of help "unlocking" what they can do and what their potentail is.

Answer 19

They are completely different! Autism spectrum disorders cover a wide range of severity and may or may not include mental disability. Asperger Syndrome, for example, is a high functioning form of Autism and certainly is nothing close to mental retardation. In fact, I have worked with Autistic people who are extremely smart. They simply lack communication and social interaction skills.

In fact, I have worked with plenty of Autistic individuals who are definitely smarter than you seem to be, with your feeble minded and moronic judgments.

Answer 20

Sorry but you are wrong. Autism has levels. My friends little bro has it and its low level all he does is gets really happy easy. Also with Autism it makes him bored so he remembers dates and presidents. His IQ is 122 and he is 13. Mentally Retarded Nope. Smarter then you probably.