Hi
>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 26-Jan-06 5:11:09 PM >>>
Hi Tipsters,
I'm facing a rather surprising situation at the moment. In
discussing Intelligence and its distribution in the population, I
naturally
touched on the "gifted", as well as on "mental retardation". One
student was
offended that I would use such a "crude and archaic" term. She then
went to
the Learning Disability centre where she volunteers and shared with
them
that I was still using such terminology (mental retardation). According
to
the student, when she told them about it (director, supervisor,
psychologist), they just about spit their coffee on the spot! She
reports
that they could not believe I would use such terminology. Wow!
...
I think the student (and perhaps others) need to be educated about the
need to categorize (and hence label) various kinds of disadvantaged
people, especially if they are to receive some benefits of being so
categorized, such as not being executed in many states if they are
mentally retarded. A quick browsing of the internet indicates quite
widespread use of the label by people and organizations who are
supremely supportive of people with below average iqs, including many
anti-execution groups, the American Association on Mental Retardation,
various government departments that include services for people with
Mental Retardation in their mandate, Amnesty International, the
Minnesota Ombudsman for Mental Illness/Mental Retardation, various
research centers studying mental retardation, and so on.
You might want to direct her to http://www.aamr.org/, the website for
the Am Assoc on Mental Retardation, as a start, or type "mental
retardation legislation usa into google as I did.
On the other hand, there are real issues about stigma and labeling.
For some sites that address various aspects of the labelling issue,
see:
http://www.come-over.to/FAS/mentalretardation.htm
http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/mrdefinitions2.htm
http://www.poynter.org/article_feedback/article_feedback_list.asp?id=36851
http://www.poynter.org/dg.lts/id.58/aid.36851/column.htm
http://asclepius.com/angel/mr.html
http://www.arcdallas.org/advocacy_topics.htm
http://www.vrri.org/rhb0799.htm
http://che.georgetown.edu/publications/spark.html
http://www.gurl.com/findout/label/pages/0,,684340,00.html
http://www.arcct.com/2001-ruling.html
http://www.vrri.org/rhb0897.htm
Take care
Jim
James M. Clark
Professor of Psychology
204-786-9757
204-774-4134 Fax
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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