difference between autism and mentally retarted?

Question

the guy on 24 tonight was smart and he was retarted are people with autism smart, im confused

Answer 1

People with Autism have severe delays in both social skills as well as communication. People with mental retardation (MR) are cognitively delayed, yet often times read social cues fairly well. People with MR can read nonverbal cues, where those with autism cannot adequately do so.

Some people appear retarded who have autism, mainly because they are severly socially delayed and apear that they do not "get it", and they also do not communicate in the regular pragmatics of language that those without Autism do.

You may be both Autistic and Mentally Retarded, yet if you are MR, that does not mean you are Autistic. Mental retardation is just based off of your IQ (any IQ below 70) and having your adaptive (life) skills within the same range.

Often people on the Autism Spectrum are smart, yet just have a hard time communicating and interacting with other people. If a person is considered high functioning autistic or Asperger's, then they are that due to a higher IQ with normal language development before the age of 3.

In a nutshell, Autism is delays in social skills and communication skills, where Mental Retardation is deficit in cognition.

Answer 2

Drisin is right about definitions. I just wanted to add one thing.

A recent survey of 8 states determined that about 45% of children diagnosed with autism are also diagnosed as mentally retarded (IQ under 70) So 55% are NOT retarded.

I suspect many of the people with autism who are labeled as "smart" aren't really much smarter than us. They are just more obsessed with a particular subject and therefore become experts on that subject. Such obsession isn't uncommon in high-functioning autism. But combine the truly smart with the obsessive autistic & you can end up with another Einstein. (Einstein MAY have had high-functioning autism)

I'm not sue how accurate this stat is, but it is the latest & I found on the CDC site, so I assume it isn't too far off.

Answer 3

Mental Retardation is defined as 1) having an overall IQ of 69 or lower AND 2) adaptive livings skills (the practical things people need to do to live indepedently, like cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, making friends, etc) in the range of "functional impairment," as measured by an adaptive living skills test.

Autism is a neurological condition that affects 1) speech and communication 2) social interaction and 3) repetitive behavior and stereotyped interests.

It is possible to have autism, but also to have an IQ that is NOT in the range of "mental retardation." For instance, some "high functioning autistic" individuals have average or above average NONverbal skills (as measured by an IQ test). However, due to their problems in language, they score low on the VERBAL tasks on an IQ test.

Similarly, an individual with Aspergers Disorder, which is on the "autism spectrum," may have "normal" language patterns, but have social interaction problems plus obsessive interests. These individuals often have average to above average IQ scores, and therefore are NOT mentally retarded.

However, it is important to note that some people with Aspergers or high-functioning autism have very serious problems with adaptive living skills, sometimes even more serious than (some) people with "only" Mental Retardation. In other words, their degree of functional impairment, or their ability to get along day to day is just as impaired or worse than a person with MR. Just because someone has a "normal" IQ doesn't mean that they can automatically complete practical tasks like hold down a job, keep a house clean, socialize on a daily basis, etc.

Hope this answers your question.

Answer 4

Most people with mental retardation show relatively even skill development, while individuals with autism typically show uneven skill development with deficits in certain areas - most frequently in their abililty to communicate and relate to others - and distinct skills in other areas. It is important to distinguish autism from mental retardation or other disorders since diagnostic confusion may result in referral to inappropriate and ineffective treatment techniques.

Some people who have autism are geniuses! Look at Bill Gates, Steven Spielberg, they both have autistic characteristics and they are very famous. A person who has autism ,doesnt mean they are retarded. It's two different diagnoses.

Answer 5

here are some links that might answer your question I know that they have a lot problems with social skills. I know that they have behavior problems as well. I will say they are slow and are mental retard as well and their eyes don't focus. Mental retarded they are just slow but they can live a normal life and hold down jobs dependind on the how retarded they are. mental retard have social skills they are just slow. I put in links for both conditions. here some more links you can read at your convince sometimes you have both conditions going together. they are different ausism has to do with social skills and retard is just low IQ. they some links for you to find out more information.

Answer 6

our psychologist friend above really hit the nail on the head with her explanation. I would like to add that for a lot of people, when they think of reatardation, they are actually thinking of people with Downe's Syndrome. Downe's in actually a chromosomal disorder...the people suffering from it carry an extra chromosome on select gene strands. That is why people suffering from Downe's have similar physical appearances..broad foreheads, eyes with a slighlty Asian look, often heavier set. While there are other types of retardation, since this is the "face" most people put to the word, it is easy to be confused!

Answer 7

Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests.
while mental retardation is the arrested or incomplete development of mind which includes significant/severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning and is associated with abnormally aggressive or seriously irresponsible conduct on the part of the person concerned.

Answer 8

this is only an opinion a retarted person gets to a certain age group and stays there. Autism is a person who is a very slow learner and is capable to make progerss and sometimes close the gap some what.

Answer 9

give it to the last one who ansewered, but I wanted to add that its possible to have an exceptional skill despite extreme impairment in all or most other areas. This is called a savant skill.