Humans only species that has mental disabilities?

Question

Are humans the only thing on the planet that gets things like downsyndrom and autism? and why is that.

Answer 1

I had a cat that use to walk in circles all the time. Not sure if she had an equilibrium problem or was just plain nuts.

Answer 2

No, I see mentally retarded primates on natural shows. They usually don't live long because of natural selection

Answer 3

humans have  communication and doctors unlike other animals....

well there are vets.. but they are human  too, but you get the picture

Answer 4

No there are mentally challenged dogs and cats as well. I saw it on tv. The owners have to really pay close attn to them.

Answer 5

i'd think so. we used to have a dog that was touched.not quite the same as the others,,, a little slow, not too bright.  i don't think there was a name for it.

Answer 6

I had a dog a long time ago.  Best pet in the world.  He loved people, especially kids because he could run and play with them, and he took it upon himself to be a guard dog for my cats.  In his old age, he developed senility; the older he got the worse the senility got.  He would walk around the house, seemingly lost, not really knowing who we were.  In the backyard, the same backyard we ran around and played in, he would get lost and not be able to find his way back to the backdoor.  He eventually lost all control of his bowels and bladder.  It was heartbreaking.  We ended up having to put him down, rather than see him suffer like that.

Answer 7

i dont think so my old old was retarted

Answer 8

in response to the other guy... in ancient times the disabled would not typically survive. in nature it has always been a "survival of the fittest" where any population would be regulated by natural predators, disease etc. and if you got sick, you died. that was life. but we humans, we seem to have put a kink into this perfect system.

i love life. and humans and our existence. i just see it for how it is.

Answer 9

All living things have abnormal young.  It's just that we humans keep ours alive while other species either kill their abnormal young or neglect them so they starve or freeze to death.  We keep our defected young alive so they can breed and pass on the defect.  We are not a very bright species as a whole.

Answer 10

No, but most disabled members of other species don't live very long. Either they starve because they can't get enough food, or they are killed by predators because they aren't adept enough to escape.

Humans take care of their disabled members (and we have very few natural predators), so they're more likely to live and you're more likely to see them.