Is Autism a form of mental retardation, or a psychological problem?

There are some people with autism who are diagnosed as mentally retarded, but many are not. It depends how severely the person is affected. Someone who is on the higher end of the spectrum is absolutely not "mentally retarded." People with Asperger's are sometimes called "little professors" because they speak like sophisticated adults, with comprehensive vocabulary. Obviously, this is not true for all, but it happens to be true for those I've met with Asperger's, including my 7-year-old neighbor, who has a better grasp of English and science than most adults I've known.

But, for some, there are serious cognitive delays. About 2/3 of those with classic autism will never speak, or I should say, will never be considered "verbal" though they may use some words.

One of the many reasons autism is fascinating is because many who have been considered mentally retarded were found to be of normal intelligence after new means of communication were introduced, such as special computer programs. A percentage have extremely special gifts, such as Stephen Wiltshire: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8YXZTlwTAU and Tito Mukhopadhyay (who was considered mentally retarded but writes truly incredible poetry): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tito_Mukhopadhyay .

In short, there is no one answer for all. I'm not trying to be argumentative with others who answered, but yes, autism sometimes is a form of mental retardation. For others, it results in what appears to be quirkiness. Huge, complex range. My son has autism, and yes, on his medical paperwork, it does in fact say "mental retardation." I wish it weren't true, but it is... And he is moderate-functioning, not low-functioning.

"Mental retardation. The fraction of autistic individuals who also meet criteria for mental retardation has been reported as anywhere from 25% to 70%, a wide variation illustrating the difficulty of assessing autistic intelligence.[154] For ASD other than autism, the association with mental retardation is much weaker."

As far as how it's classified goes, it depends. It usually sounds something like "neurological disorder."

Symptoms vary widely, but among those with classic autism, the common ones are: Speech delays, sensory-processing abnormalities (either sensory-avoiding or sensory-seeking), lack of proper eye contact and/or interaction, repetitive behaviors, not using toys in a representational manner, rocking/hand-flapping, lack of safety awareness, severe temper tantrums. Sometimes, a person with autism is self-injurious or aggressive with others. Not everyone shares the same symptoms, and sometimes symptoms show up later, or dissipate.

This Site Might Help You.

RE:

Is Autism a form of mental retardation, or a psychological problem?

How exactly is Autism classified, and what are its symptoms?

Autism is a developmental disorder.

The difference between Autism and Mental Retardation:

http://www.autism-world.com/index.php/2007/09/21/t...

Autism is a developmental disorder. It is not a form of retardation. Autism is part of a spectrum and depending on where someone is on the spectrum, symptoms and behaviours can change quite significantly. Symptoms can include: verbal difficulties, difficulty with authority, difficulty understanding facial expressions and ambiguous terms, difficulty understanding other's viewpoints. This is all off the top of my head but I hope it helps somewhat.

With reference to the answer above me not all people with autism are super smart. High intelligence is more common in those with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism.

An autistic person's view:

Autism is a social disorder where you have trouble understanding social rules, have trouble with language processing (understanding what people are saying even though you hear them)

problems with sensory intergration (in layman terms...it means you can get easily overstimulated by alot of noise, sights, touch) ppl with autism get overwhelmed in large crowds, hate loud noises, and some ppl with autism dont like the way certain things feel..like certain fabrics can itch or burn...even some ppl with autism dont like being touched since it is painful)

easily excitable, easily distracted, Have trouble reading facial expressions and body language.

Have alot of problems understanding figures of speech ( like idioms and slang)

Dont like change...and thrive in the familiar

Having trouble relating to other's point of view

You would prefer to go in your own thoughts...and stay there if you could but ppl around you wont let you do that

However there is a hidden bright side to autism that most non-autistic people dont know about. Autistic people have a unique way of seeing the world...seeing the beautiful and amazing in things that most people dont take time to notice...like the way a shadow looks on a wall or the way the grass sways when the wind blows. The world with all its evil and corruption can still be full of wonder to an autistic person.

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/Im3d4

You are being quite broad and vague in this-- as not all psychiatric conditions cause what you are describing. There are forms of senile dementia and Alzheimer where people "regress" as well as some forms of Autism & retardation (which is not a psychiatric disorder, but can cause them) that cause people to stop the maturation process at a young age. And face it-- there are a LOT of just plain-old immature people in this world. IMO-- it is due to our culture of "If I want it- I get it-or I cry". Whenever a child cries, the parents cave-in just so they don't have to listen to it... this leads to spoiled Adults with no morals or ethics who are immature and self-centered.... (Ever see Paris Hilton?) Has nothing to do with Psychiatric disorders-- just several generations of terrible parenting!!!

Autism is a severe developmental disorder that begins at birth or within the first two-and-a-half years of life. Most autistic children are perfectly normal in appearance, but spend their time engaged in puzzling and disturbing behaviors which are markedly different from those of typical children. Less severe cases may be diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) or with Asperger's Syndrome (these children typically have normal speech, but they have many "autistic" social and behavioral problems).

Autism refers to a spectrum of disorders known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders.

It is actual a neurological disorder meaning the brain functions differently. they really don't know how it develops some people say shots (i strongly do not believe this) they say it happens when one parent is older or both (i don't believe this one ether) they say it's genetic ( witch i think it is) but reality is is no one could say it's one thing. signs are speech delay, anxiety disorders such as scared of loud noises or being around alot of people they may scream and cover their ears or hand flap things like that, a real strong sign is they line up things in a line such as cars or blocks instead of towering them ( meaning one right on top of the other one and so on) you can use that as a test but you have to use wooden blocks not ones that attach like Lego's, they like to play alone some will play on the side of them but not with them, they have repetitive behaviors meaning running back and forth over and over Again or walking in circles, they don't have imaginary play meaning they don't know how to pretend theirs a lot of things to look out for but psychologist don't diagnoses a child because they don't talk or anxiety disorders they have to be on the autism spectrum the way that works is they need to meet a three criteria meaning there are three things that they delay in. i hope i helped answered your question my advice if your asking for your child or for some one Else's that the parent needs to get help right away!!!!!!! the sooner the better the child will function.

Both it is genetic defect with psychological ramifications Side effects

Symptoms vary slow development lack of comunication skills withdrawn behavior tantrom like fits easily frustrated .

Basically if a childs behavior is unusually different developmentally slow get the advice of a pediatric pro.

there are other Genetic abnormalities that are possible but always if there is a problem do what is best for child you wouldn't hassitate if he had a 104 fever would you