Two comments respond to an R. P. Hastings article on labeling of individuals with mental retardation. The first comment notes that diagnoses should not be used as labels but as identifications of disorders a person has. The second comment calls for people to come forth with synonyms for "mental retardation" that will not immediately be stigmatic.…

The recent literature on labeling in mental retardation is reviewed and a conceptual scheme based on T. Scheff's model is presented for future study of the labeling problem. The issue of the medicalization or demedicalization of mental retardation is discussed in light of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. (Author)

The definition of developmental disabilities clarifies the functional intent of the Developmental Disabilities Act (P.L. 95-602), but it raises many questions. Issues discussed include the advantages of labeling, individualizing, and the prescriptive potential of the definition. Problems include complexities in implementation, inconsistencies in…

Labeling exceptional children can be beneficial in that it can lead to differentiated treatment, give more insight into etiology and prevention, and call public attention to a specific problem; however, it can be used to preserve a social hierarchy by keeping minority group children from opportunities and delay needed social reform. (Author/IM)

This reprint (from a 1961 article) and excerpt (from a 1977 paper) recommend definitions of various terms in the field of mental retardation, such as subaverage, organic retardation, and functional retardation and argue that incidence and prevalence estimates of mental retardation vary so remarkably and change so frequently to fit certain…

This commentary offers a rationale for reprinting an 1866 essay by J. L. H. Down (EC 610 641) in which Down's syndrome is delineated and a clinical description of "mongoloid idiocy" is provided. The article deplores the dehumanizing ideology that has changed its terms over the decades but has persisted in practices of marginalization and control.…

EMR labeling and psychometric information similarly affected teachers' attributions and their instructional prescriptions. However, EMR labeling information affected the manner in which teachers revised their pupil ability attributional ratings. In addition, it was noted that accumulation of EMR information rather than type of information affected…

This article reviews scientific definitions and social implications of "intelligence" in the context of plans of the American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR) to rename their organization and the diagnostic category to "intellectual disabilities". It is felt that such a change would associate the AAMR with those…

Randomly selected full time students in a teacher training program (n=102) participated in a study to determine the influence of the label "mentally retarded" and physical attractiveness had on individual judgments of subnormality. (Author/CL)

Changes in labels for people with mental retardation over the years have not significantly impacted on negative attitudes toward this population. Recommended is selection of labels which are unambiguous in meaning, based on research on connotations of various labels, and based on preferences expressed by people with mental retardation and their…

This article uses a short story by Jack London to discuss the classification of individuals with mental retardation and argues that mental retardation and its various definitions are manifestations of the typological thinking that inevitably creates a simplistic and misleading aggregation of people with very diverse needs and characteristics.…

A total of 685 articles in "Mental Retardation,""American Journal of Mental Deficiency," and "American Journal on Mental Retardation" from 1980 through 1989 were examined. The mental retardation classification system developed by the American Association on Mental Retardation was used in over 50 percent of the…

A man with a developmental disability discusses the self-advocacy movement, the cruelty of stigmatizing labels such as "mentally retarded," and the need for greater involvement in professional organizations such as the American Association on Mental Retardation. He proposes a joint conference with a self-advocacy organization. (DB)

Set forth are objections to three current practices in the education of the mentally retarded. (CL)

A survey of state mental retardation/developmental disabilities agencies found that while most employ a classification system that is compatible with or derived from that of the American Association on Mental Deficiency (AAMD), only 22 are actually using the 1983 edition of the AAMD alone or with another system. (Author/VW)