Did you know that…..
In 1959 The American Association on Mental Deficiency proposed some modifications in the classification of the degree of mental retardation ?
The Association also proposed new names, that is, changed the old terms designating the different degrees of intellectual retardation with new ones.
This new classification of mental deficiency was based on two dimensions, the measure of intelligence and impaired adaptive behavior.
The former classification classified the mental deficiency in terms of “moron“, “imbecile” and “idiot“.
The new one sorted out the mental retardation as “mild”, “moderate“, “serious” and “deep “.
These four terms covering basically the same range as above.
In the new classification, the mental retardation mild is two standard deviations below of the normal intelligence, measured by an intelligence test.
(Edited by Dr. María Moya Guirao, MD)