Confusing Autism with Mental Retardation
It is said that between 75% and 90% of all autistics are mentally retarded. To be diagnosed with mental retardation, one must generally show significant impairment in adaptive living skills and have an IQ under 70 as measured by a standardized IQ test. In the event one is not able to complete an IQ test for whatever reasoning, the diagnosis of mental retardation can be made on the basis of other tests and through observation.

I do not question that many individuals with autism and its various forms show impairment in adaptive living. I do not even doubt that some of these same individuals will appear to meet the criteria for mental retardation on the basis of both observation and testing methods. But I feel that it may be a huge mistake to classify any autistic individual as mentally retarded until more is known about autism.

I say this for a number of reasons. For one thing, autism is marked by a significant delay in or general lack of the development of meaningful speech. Speech is very important to development because it allows us both to organize thoughts internally and to convey meaning. We may be able to think without words, but much of our complex thought processes depend on having a decent command of language. Furthermore, the ability to communicate in any form is necessary to interact with and form bonds with others. The inability to express one's own needs or make sense of others actions would seem to lead to a state of futility and confusion, and this along with other factors (such as hypersensitivity to external stimuli) may strongly inhibit one's ability or even desire to form social bonds.

Now I cannot help but ask then, how does one convey to a severely affected autistic individual 1) what types are tests are to be conducted 2) what skills are necessary to complete these tests and 3) the relevance of these tests? How also does one go about creating a suitable environment for those with more serious sensory issues in which to conduct these tests?

Typical, nonautistic schoolchildren have a desire to do well on tests because it will make their parents or teachers proud or perhaps because they feel a moral responsibility to be honest. Adults will strive to do well either to gain self-confidence (or avoid feeling insufficient), to avoid ridicule or because they want an accurate measure of themselves against the general population. Both children and adults will typically have an understanding of the instructions of the test along with the concepts being tested, even if they are unable to complete some tasks and even if they do not always understand what the tests will inevitably reveal about themselves.

Many autistics, on the other hand, may not understand the relevance, may not be concerned with how others feel about their performance, and if uncomfortable with (or disinterested in) the whole process, may become uncooperative altogether. They may additionally display behavior that appears bizarre to the onlooker, but it may be due to sensory issues or the general confusion caused by not being able to communicate effectively.

It is now believed that the earlier one with autism can gain functional speech, the better the prognosis. As a result, early intervention program aimed both at developing speech and reducing sensory sensitivity have sprung up everywhere, and so far the results are favorable. Who's to say that as autistic individuals begin to overcome these problems, that they might not be found to have an overall IQ much closer to normal or even beyond? I look forward to future studies to find whether or not the percentage of autistics with a diagnosis of mental retadation decreases over time.

Note: I got the idea for this article because I communicated via email to a nonverbal autistic individual. She conceded that she has far too many problems, including stereotypical behavior and tantrums, to live on her own in the present though she would like to some day. She has exhausted herself trying to find someone willing to help one in her mid-twenties, and she feels she is regarded as a lost cause. To read her written communications, however, one would be hard-pressed to believe that she is of below-average intelligence, though she includes mental retardation among a string of labels applied to her.