tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547437486205245818.post756270026685838368..comments2023-07-14T10:34:53.273-04:00Comments on Down Wit Dat: Factoid Friday: "Mental Retardation" is No Longer an Acceptable DiagnosisPsychojenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02936930614210195529noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547437486205245818.post-51903887622466867132012-10-27T21:01:18.226-04:002012-10-27T21:01:18.226-04:00You know, Anonymous, I was thinking about this som...You know, Anonymous, I was thinking about this some more and I think that the response you are getting to your little 'tidbit' there in the beginning would be much less bitter, if it seemed like you at least understood why the intellectually disabled population does not wish to be referred to as the 'retarded population'. As it reads now, the 'nyah nyah' seems barely suppressed. It seems like you're happy about being able to call someone mentally retarded because it's 'the current code' or some such excuse. <br /><br />We understand that sometimes still doctors have to tick the box by mental retardation because there isn't a box that says intellectual disability or intellectual developmental disorder, but we hope that those doctors aren't happy about it and maybe even want to change with the times and leave in the past all those expressions that are no longer appropriate because their use has gone through such a change. <br /><br />I really wish I understood why you wouldn't want to show compassion. Extranjerahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13972708570414496825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547437486205245818.post-22301992556362870392012-10-27T19:44:13.701-04:002012-10-27T19:44:13.701-04:00Anonymous - "Euphemism treadmill"? Yes, ...Anonymous - "Euphemism treadmill"? Yes, now I truly sense your humanity, your compassion toward those under your care, and your 'first do no harm' creed. <br /><br />This discussion is an important one, just not worth having with you. Extranjerahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13972708570414496825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547437486205245818.post-23749065962754053642012-10-27T18:10:33.112-04:002012-10-27T18:10:33.112-04:00Jen...Skye...don't feed the trolls. I don'...Jen...Skye...don't feed the trolls. I don't believe Anonymous is a physician, I believe Anonymous is a troll looking for attention. The worst thing you can do to a troll is ignore it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02510138995828032096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547437486205245818.post-30992727383065164562012-10-27T17:58:54.551-04:002012-10-27T17:58:54.551-04:00"Please note that the terms "retardation..."Please note that the terms "retardation" and "retarded" are under consideration for a change in ICD-11" - http://www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/69.pdf due out 2015. <br /><br />Just FYI.Psychojenichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02936930614210195529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547437486205245818.post-73516703632956414482012-10-27T17:36:19.400-04:002012-10-27T17:36:19.400-04:00I thought this discussion wasn't worth having?...I thought this discussion wasn't worth having? Psychojenichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02936930614210195529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547437486205245818.post-65572450510079043052012-10-27T14:56:21.898-04:002012-10-27T14:56:21.898-04:00Anonymous - Jen is correctly stating that as of th...Anonymous - Jen is correctly stating that as of this post (October 26), "mental retardation" is no longer a medically accepted term. The APA agrees with her, and has supported the removal of this term from the DSM-V since the 18th of May, 2012.<br /><br />In fact, the APA also acknowledges that "retardation" is no longer a medically accepted term internationally.<br /><br />Yes, it used to be acceptable medical and common language. It also used to be acceptable to chain the mentally ill to concrete walls and put them on public display. Just because something or some word USED to be acceptable, does not mean it continues to be so.<br /><br />As a parent, I am asking you, as a physician and representative of all physicians who continue to use mental retardation in medical language and/or in common-speak to reconsider your defense of the term and to advance with the rest of the international medical community.<br /><br />If you claim to be "the messenger", why wouldn't you choose to deliver a positive one?<br /><br />Skyenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547437486205245818.post-3229762281319357422012-10-27T14:23:44.329-04:002012-10-27T14:23:44.329-04:00I enter ICD-9 codes for all of my patients' di...I enter ICD-9 codes for all of my patients' diagnoses, and that's what the World Health Organization has coded (even in the most recent ICD-10): mental retardation. http://apps.who.int/classifications/icd10/browse/2010/en#/F70-F79. <br /><br />Again, this statement is false: "As of this publication, it is no longer an accepted description or diagnosis and is therefore not acceptable in ANY context." Like it or not, it is still routinely used factually in the medical world, and this kind of bitter, personal response (from commenters) is not the way to change that. <br /><br />Homosexuality is no longer in the DSM-IV b/c it's no longer considered a disorder. Mental retardation hasn't gone away; the DSM simply reflects the euphemism treadmill. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547437486205245818.post-32715475066536893812012-10-27T11:52:13.032-04:002012-10-27T11:52:13.032-04:00Anonymous - You did not state that "medically...Anonymous - You did not state that "medically mental retardation IS an accepted diagnosis", you stated that you're a physician and you routinely use it. If you are as devoted to your patients as you say perhaps you should consider what such organizations, comprised of your patients if your patients have intellectual disabilities, as NDSS, the ARC, and NDSC say about language. <br /><br />You are not the messenger, you are part of the problem. Extranjerahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13972708570414496825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547437486205245818.post-23725714260736656262012-10-27T08:43:32.611-04:002012-10-27T08:43:32.611-04:00I didn't "shoot the messenger", I ju...I didn't "shoot the messenger", I just pointed out that in time, even medical terminology changes. "Mongolian Idiocy" used to be in every textbook and used by every physician as well. How would you, "Anonymous", refer to someone who used that outdated term in a consultation report? <br /><br />Perhaps it's a regional thing, "Anonymous". I read a lot of reports in a week from general practitioners, psychiatrists and various specialists. Here, "MR" is almost a thing of the past. "Developmental delay" is usually used, or perhaps a description of the actual condition. We do see a lot of patients with developmental delays in Mental Health as we are referred quite a variety of people from severe autism to acquired brain injuries to chromosomal deletion syndromes.<br /><br />I have no doubt in my mind "Anonymous" that you feel that you are dedicated to your patients. However, I am going to suggest that perhaps you could rethink your position on this term a bit and reflect on whether or not you are giving them the respectful service that they deserve. <br /><br />You are correct on one other point as well. This conversation is not worth having. If it were, you would have signed your name to it. You could be anybody, including someone posing as a physician.Psychojenichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02936930614210195529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547437486205245818.post-89472335772529811682012-10-27T02:17:39.617-04:002012-10-27T02:17:39.617-04:00Wow. If me stating that medically, mental retardat...Wow. If me stating that medically, mental retardation IS an accepted diagnosis - and not 'no longer accepted as of this publication' as Jen states - makes me uncompassionate (a very heavy charge for someone devoted to her patients), this is not a conversation worth having. <br /><br />If you're going to shoot the messenger, I'm sorry I engaged.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547437486205245818.post-56428026983731268712012-10-27T01:22:59.837-04:002012-10-27T01:22:59.837-04:00Anonymous, as a physician, you are expected to be ...Anonymous, as a physician, you are expected to be on top of your game. Perhaps you should stop reading those outdated textbooks. <br /> <br />"Updated May 18, 2012<br />Name change. The term mental retardation was used in DSM-IV and in earlier DSM definitions. Mental Retardation is no longer used internationally or in U.S. federal legislation, so a name change is required in DSM-5. <br /><br />The term Intellectual Disability (ID) is widely used. This term is used by the AAIDD and criteria have been developed to define ID as a functional disorder, explicitly in keeping with the WHO International Classification of Functioning (ICF). <br /><br />The ICF is a classification of disability, unlike DSM. Rather, DSM is a classification of diseases and disorders. The DSM-5 criteria are harmonized with the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), not with the ICF. Thus, the DSM-5 Intellectual Developmental Disorder is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder of brain development. <br /><br />Its inclusion in the manual is analogous to the DSM-5 category Neurocognitive Disorder (in DSM-IV, dementia) where onset is typically later in life, there is loss of prior cognitive capacity, and degeneration is often a feature. In Intellectual Developmental Disorder (IDD), there are deficits in cognitive capacity beginning in the developmental period. The term IDD was chosen to be consistent with DSM-5 as a classification of disorders and to harmonize this diagnosis with the proposed ICD-11."<br /><br />The DSM may not dictate what language physicians use. The words you choose are a personal choice. However, the world of medicine is changing to respect the rights of the disabled. Something you might consider doing yourself in a profession that prides itself on compassionate care.Skyenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547437486205245818.post-56026439830057420272012-10-27T01:09:41.994-04:002012-10-27T01:09:41.994-04:00Sure, the DSM-IV doesn't dictate what language...Sure, the DSM-IV doesn't dictate what language a physician will use. But I am sure that many patients and their advocates will be looking for a doctor that is sensitive to their specific needs and goals for health will want a doctor who keeps up with current and future publications from noteworthy sources such as the APA. A doctor, on the other hand, who is still using their texts that date back from their first years of medical school will soon find that they will limit their clientele... and possibly not be able to practise the medicine that they would like since they refuse to acknowledge that we are constantly revamping and reviewing and refocusing. After all, it's not so long ago that we were treating most illnesses by bleeding, or the way simple hand washing can help arrest the spread of disease.starcrossedmommyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02799110134285817260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547437486205245818.post-46145534793620144492012-10-26T23:50:09.221-04:002012-10-26T23:50:09.221-04:00It's too bad you felt that you had to post ano...It's too bad you felt that you had to post anonymously... <br /><br />However, you are right. It is out there. But, this is a start. As every medical textbook is updated every few years, this will slowly change for all of you as well. <br /><br />Hopefully, the physicians that come after you will be a little more compassionate.<br />Psychojenichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02936930614210195529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547437486205245818.post-61913150941758502692012-10-26T23:49:04.564-04:002012-10-26T23:49:04.564-04:00Anonymous - Thanks. I hope you never come across m...Anonymous - Thanks. I hope you never come across my kid, or me for that matter. The DSM-IV might not dictate what language physicians use, but one would hope that manners, common decency, and constructive feedback from national organizations would. I'm guessing you didn't go into medicine for the patients' sake then? Extranjerahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13972708570414496825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547437486205245818.post-7334431424672519572012-10-26T23:27:17.436-04:002012-10-26T23:27:17.436-04:00"As of this publication, it is no longer an a..."As of this publication, it is no longer an accepted description or diagnosis" - not true. It's in every textbook and medical curriculum and it's not going anywhere, in part b/c this terminology isn't an issue within medicine. I'm a physician and I routinely use the term (usually abbreviated to 'MR') as do the consultants who see my patients. The DSM-IV doesn't dictate what language physicians use. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com