I have a friend who is mildly mentally retarded, the thing is....?

Question

This friend went to the hospital, when he was seven years old, for an MRI of the brain. The thing that disturbs me is that he believe's that his perent's are keeping his mental retardation a secret. He told me that his perent's told him that he was autistic. He told me that his perent's talk down to him all the time, including his relative's. He said they all treat him like ****. The doctor's told him his MRI was normal. He still believe's that the doctor's and his perent's are not telling him everything. Is this legal? Could he bring some legal action toward's his perent's, if he find's out that his brain is abnormal?

Answer 1

Maybe he has both...a person can have autism and mental retardation.

In any case, you sound like a good friend.  Does it matter what his label is as long as he is happy and making progress in life?

Answer 2

An MRI is not useful to diagnose autism nor mental retardation.

Mental Retardation is defined as an IQ under 70 so a person has to take an IQ test, usually done by the school.  Autism is a behavioral definition.  There are no medical tests that will diagnose either of these conditions.  

If the docs and parents are saying the MRI is normal, it likely is.    And a child would have an extreme amount of difficulty in filing a suit against his parents.

Answer 3

OF COURSE!!!!!!!!!! That is very wrong to do to someone don't you think???? Give the guy some advice.  He can seek legal counsel for free.  If he can get the medical records (and he can because they are HIS) then he has a big case.  HELP YOUR FRIEND OUT PLEASE!!!! I am very concerned about this situation so let me know what goes on ok.  Good luck sweetie.......

Answer 4

My answer would be, with parent always down on you is really disturbing.  He is probably O.K. but he must learn to be rational and not read anything into it.

Help and be a good support system to him.  Tell him to trust in God.

Answer 5

Dependiong on his age.  He should go to a good psychologist and take an I.Q. test to answer his questions.  It's possible the doctors early on thought he was mildly retarded and he isn't. I doubt that action could truly be taken and it would cost a lot of money - to what end result?  Just to insult them?  Friend needs to think over whether it is worth it or not.  Do YOU think he's retarded? I'd be sure and have an I.Q. test if I were in doubt.

Answer 6

Since it bothers your friend, he should decide NOT to be mildly mentally retarded! : ~ )  Here is what I mean:  It has been stated- and I agree  - that IQ tests are a measure of performance and not potential.  Your friend can practice the areas where he is scoring the weakest, and improve.  

Mildly mentally retarded usually is defined as an IQ of between 2 and 3 standard deviations below average- that is, between 55 and 70.  This depends somewhat on the legal definitions where you and your friend live.  Since an IQ of 71 is not normally considered retarded, this should be your friend's first goal. Then, he can improve from there.  : ~ )

     It is known that people on the autistic spectrum often score lower on IQ tests than what their intelligence level actually is-  partially because of their weaknesses in interpreting the questions correctly.  One way around this problem would be to have your friend practice doing puzzles and teasers with you or with other people, who can explain how to  interpret the questions correctly.  The idea here is that practice makes perfect, when it comes to interpreting what a question means.

     Another method that will really work is to ask your friend to write his own IQ test questions!  Then,  practice revising them, till they are rewritten more clearly.

The format of the test could be causing your friend to score lower as well.  If so, he can sign up to take IQ tests online, and practice repeatedly with tests in a similar format, before he takes a real one.  There are also books of IQ test-type questions, and practice will help!

     Finally, if he has a strength, he can use it to do better on these tests.  Your friend should make sure he has his timestables and basic math facts memorized (this may be quite easy for him!), and memorize the common decimal equivalents of fractions like 1/8=.125, 3/8=.375, etc. for denominators up to 10.  These are not intelligence questions, but they are often on tests like these!

Answer 7

Keep being friends with him. Unfortunately the only thing that will happen if you press this issue is them banning him from ever seeing you.

While legal action is somewhat possible in this day and age(everybody is suing someone for something!), I'm not sure if it would do any good.

Good luck with you and your friend. I wish I could be of more help.