Re: theory/practice

From: Ruth A. Wiebe Berry (raberry@acsu.buffalo.edu)
Date: Mon Aug 27 2001 - 07:04:52 PDT


At 12:09 AM -0400 8/25/01, MnFamilyMan@aol.com wrote:
>An idiot would be able to make correlations in environmental stimuli but may
>contribute extraneous circumstances to an event's outcome. An idiot may
>score in the normal range on an IQ test but when it comes to understanding
>social cues this person would gladly pick playing cards in a courtroom
>instead of being quiet.
>
>An imbecile would score in the 60 to 80 standard of an IQ test that has 100
>as the average score. The imbecile would have been asked to leave many a
>large social gathering instead of others having to put up with their constant
>questions and unwelcome comments.
>
>A moron is well into the retarded range and is unable to formulate ideas
>which recognize abstract thought as a tool for communication.

For Eric (and general clarification),

As a matter of fact, you have your categories backwards. From The
Intelligence Men: Makers of the IQ Controversy, R. E. Fancher
(Norton, 1987, p. 70), "three groups: profoundly mentally deficient
people called idiots; moderately deficient but still severely
handicapped people called imbeciles; and a large number of people
whose mental abilities approached the lower limits of the normal
population. Binet referred to this group as "debiles" (literally,
"weak ones"), a French word for which his American translators soon
coined the less appropriate substitute, "morons" (from the Greek
moros, meaning "dull")." Fancher goes on to note that "while there
was rough agreement as to the existence of these three general
categories, Binet found appalling confusion when it came to assigning
real people to them."

You should also be aware that the current trend regarding
classification of individuals with mental retardation does not rely
solely on intelligence scores (if it ever did). From Psychological
Testing (7th edition) by Anastasi & Urbina (Prentice Hall, 1997, pp.
247-248): "Mental retardation is not a trait but a disability that
stems from the interaction between the limitations of an individual
and the demands of the environment. Whereas the previous system
specified levels of mental retardation from mild to profound, based
on intelligence test performance, the current one classifies the
intensity of support needed by the individual across four dimensions
(intellectual functioning and adaptive skills,
psychological/emotional considerations, physical health/etiology
considerations, and environmental considerations)." Intensities of
supports may be identified as (1) intermittent -- an "as needed"
basis, as during a crisis such as job loss or a medical crisis; (2)
limited -- characterized by consistency over time, but fewer staff
members and less cost than more intense levels of support; (3)
extensive -- regular involvement in at least some environments,
long-term; and (4) pervasive -- constant, high-intensity, across
environments, life-sustaining.

========================================
Ruth A. Wiebe Berry, Ph.D.
Graduate School of Education
505 Baldy Hall
University at Buffalo, State University of New York
Buffalo, NY 14260-1000

Tel: 716.645.2455 x1153
Fax: 716.645.3161

mailto:raberry@acsu.buffalo.edu

"We think we read each other, and forget that we write each other." -- Morss
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