Is the word autistic another word for retarded or mentally challenged?

Question

Is the word autistic another word for retarded or mentally challenged?

Answer 1

My Son has high functioning autism and he thinks everyone else is a r****d because his IQ is 144!

I would say that bringing him up has been mentally challenging for me! I have to keep one step ahead of him all the time - otherwise he'd just walk all over me!

Answer 2

my 9 year old has pervasive developmental disorder it is a mild form of autism autism ranges from mild to moderate to severe usually when they do speak of autism it does deal with iq my childs iq was mild autistic which makes sense because hes one point below mental retardation but he speaks to everybody and he always makes the honor roll but he has to have things taught to him at a slower pace they test any child with behavior problems and maybe neurological problem by the standards of a autism scale at least they did with mine just here recently.

Answer 3

And also here is a lot of information about autism:

http://vsearch.nlm.nih.gov/vivisimo/cgi-...

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Answer 4

Absolutely not, it's a condition with many different forms. It has nothing to do with intelligence, I know a 7 year old boy who is a computer whiz and he has autism, he loves computers and playing different games. There are many different degrees of autism. It's based how they interact with others, what they are perceptive to, and their overall behavior towards things.

Answer 5

Autistic Spectrum Disorder is a disorder where the person has difficulty processing sensory input in the usual way.  They are not retarded or mentally challenged - it's a disorder, not a condition.  Those with ASD simply process information in a different way.  One person with ASD might find walking barefoot in the grass is pleasurable, another might find it intolerable.  One might enjoy hugging and touching, another might feel pain. Receptive and Expressive communication is also affected.  A person with ASD will often times have the will and desire to express wants, needs and feelings, but do not know how to express it.  Likewise, they may receive verbal input (where is the ball, are you thirsty?, hang up your coat), but they do not process the information at all.  Think of it like a radio that is not quite tuned in.  You can hear noise, and every once in a while a word or sentence may leak through, but after a while you tend to ignore it and go about your business.  I know my explanation isn't technical, but for layman's terms, there it is.

Answer 6

no

Answer 7

Here is a fact sheet about autism:

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autis...

(This answer was provided by a librarian!)

Answer 8

No, not at all!  I know several people in Mensa who have Asperger's, a form of high-functioning autism.  Autism deals with how a person relates to the world, not how smart they are.

Answer 9

Autisim is a medical condition that has varying degrees of sevarity. It is NOT the same as being retarded. Some people with autisim actually have a higher capability in certain fields such as art, math, music,etc then most people because they can be hyper focused on it. However, most people with autism can't communicate with the outside world and can be anti social and some with severe cases never learn to talk. It does not mean they they don't have intelligant thoughts, they just can't communicate them as most people can.