name MR Forum

i would like to point out that retard is discrimination now because people aim it at a learning disability meanin a freak etc,
they use disabilities in this law

We simply used the name associated with the condition by the American Psychological and Psychiatric Associations. If you would like to propose a change for this particular forum please let me know and we can post a poll up to see if others agree. We will likely still have the MR in parentheses though so others in need can find the forum.

sorry but in this country its against the law to name it Rtrd and especially it offends me because of my LD

please could u rename it mental illness. cos i suffer with LD,ASD and Mental Illness

flipper,

It is not "against the law" to name it Mental Retardation because that is the name of the condition. We are not using it in a derogatory way. We can't call it "Mental Illness" because that covers too wide a category. While the term may be offensive to you, it is a medical term and is still used to describe a medical condition.

I will try and find a suitable alternative however and will ask others to suggest names as well.

sorry but it is in the UK. i been called a retard because its taken the mick out of my special needs.

I don't think it is illegal in the UK, I've done a search and don't see anything saying the use of Mental Retardation is Illegal?

I'm going to look into this more, I know people living in the UK and will ask them.

Be interesting to see, I can understand why someone would take offense, but here is nothing wrong with the term as it's used... I have a learning disability, and don't find this offensive.

It is not Illegal to use this in the UK, it is considered Derogatory perhaps, politically incorrect- but it is not Illegal.


IF it's offensive, just call the forum MR ?

? How about Down Syndrome? Trisomy 21?

Rtard is an insult that's only fit for my sister's stupid dog. Unless you're french.
En francais je suis toujours retard

My two cents as a patient.

The problem with "Learning disability" is that the term is very misleading.
In UK, "learning disability" is the equivalent word for MR.
But in American English, "learning disability" means a learning disorder like dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia... but overall intelligence is more often than not preserved.
So, for me, renaming the forum "Learning disability" will bring more confusion than help.
Let be clear that at the international level, people use the American terminology : members from outside the UK and members from the UK will not easily understand each other if we use the term "learning disability", as they refer at different definitions in UK and outside the UK.
For this reason, I am very wary at renaming the forum "Learning disability". We have to account of people who are not in the UK, therefore, the definitions of the term "learning disability" at the level of UK and at the international level to understand each other.

I tell you this because once, I said to a doctor that I have a Maths Learning Disability (along with ADHD and my hearing impairment). The doctor was from UK and he was not used with the international terminology.
Well, we had a misunderstanding because I was using the American terminology to disclose my condition, whereas the doctor was using the British terminology. The doctor worried about my capacity to consent, so he had to have a (lengthy) chat with me before he realized that I used the American terminology whereas he used the British terminology (I had also to explain to him that I use the American terminology).
So, we have to be careful about such misunderstandings on a forum. Even if we have members from the UK, we also have members from outside the UK, so we have to be careful about such a problem.


What I can propose is "intellectual disability" or "intellectual deficiency" because these terms are specific enough to avoid confusion between the American and British terminology and yet, members don't feel insulted.
Even if "mental retardation" is a condition like diabetes or asthma are conditions : it's absolutely not a character flaw to have mental retardation or intellectual disability, like it's not a character flaw to have diabetes or asthma.

"Developmental disorder" is again, far too broad to be helpful : ADHD and ASD are developmental disorders but intelligence can be preserved.
For this reason, I am very wary about this term to rename the forum.

"trisomy 21", Rett, Prader-Willi syndrome are specific conditions leading to intellectual disability, but a forum for only these conditions will be way too specific.



Here are my 0.02$. They worth what they worth, but hope it gives food for thought.



Take care