Comments on: Mental age is not acceptable.

By: Scotie

Scotie — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 05:19:30 +0000

In reply to Jennifer. In neurotypical people the brain tends to develop over the years at the same time as other neurotypical people and there for are able to act an thing like normal people of their age. When doctors talk about mental age or someone they tend to mean in comparison to the normally developed brain. If you're not neurotypical (like me an you) your brain is physically different than neurotypical brians and therefor you are mentally younger (IDK about older) than your actual age. He appears to not know this.

By: The Myth of Mental Age | largertable

The Myth of Mental Age | largertable — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 19:59:46 +0000

[…] Our attempts at ranking people are meaningless because the scale itself is vague and meaningless. In 2007, writer and advocate Mel Baggs wrote, “To say someone has the mind of a child because of a test score is like calling them a cat […]

By: mplo

mplo — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 05:28:21 +0000

In reply to Ms. Clark.

Listen: I’ve disappointed my family in a number of ways, given the fact that, for all kinds of reasons, I didn’t turn out the way they thought I should’ve/could’ve/would’ve. Despite my having a history of developmental disabilities, I’m reasonably intelligent, know enough about lots of things to form opinions of, some of which are different than the rest of my family’s. I also live on my own, have a career that I love, own a home outright, pay taxes, have a Congo AFrican Grey Parrot, do martial arts (TKD), and like older movies, especially those in the 1960’s. I have one unusual passion for a certain movie: West Side Story, which is my all time favorite, and I go to see it whenever it comes to my area, or to a reasonably close place to my area.

“Normal” is overrated.

I’m just as capable of forming opinions on things, carrying on reasonably intelligent conversations, and sticking up for myself when the need arises, and being an A-hole if I feel that I’m being treated unfairly.

I’m also capable of being nasty and not being very sympathetic towards people who knowingly act stupidly, or alienate the rights of other people by blocking traffic, shutting down MBTA stations, and blocking freeways with extremely fast-moving traffic on them.

By: 'Rain Man' has been a missionary his whole life - Page 4 - LDS Mormon Forums

'Rain Man' has been a missionary his whole life - Page 4 - LDS Mormon Forums — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:09:44 +0000

[…] support the rights of people with developmental disabilities ought not to invoke it. That’s from Mental age is not acceptable, by Amanda Baggs, a "low-functioning" autistic blogger. You can read a Wired magazine […]

By: ballastexistenz

ballastexistenz — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:37:07 +0000

Howard: I would agree.

I have in the past found myself giggling childishly in situations where someone was treating me like a child. It feels fake and not-me but it’s not always easy to shake. (“When one is choking, one should spit, but how to spit the hypocrite?” -from a poem Donna Williams)

By: ballastexistenz

ballastexistenz — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:35:37 +0000

Myth is the stories people tell themselves, and each other, about something. Often has a strong connotation of falseness, although, like all stories, there might be truth in parts of it.

Fact is the ‘something’ that all the myths try to tell stories about (which may look totally different than the stories predict, to the point of unrecognizability).

By: Howard Maher

Howard Maher — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:12:37 +0000

I find that the ‘childlike’ behavior can be a response to being treated like a child. I encountered examples of this in my work at the group home. There were two clients who were supposed to be disfunctional in certain ways. I would sit with them and just tell them what was on my mind – the way I would with another ‘normal’ adult. They may not have had the intellectual capacity to respond verbally to what I was saying, but they certainly had a strong and positive response to the fact that I was speaking to them in this way. They KNEW that I was speaking to them in this way. They understood the respect that I was offering. At the same time, my talking to them in this way was certainly a violation of the rules of professionalism that apply to staff, and a violation of the informal rules that people almost usually follow in their treatment of such people.

By: Gab

Gab — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:54:41 +0000

question to all of you : what is fact, and what is myth?

By: Lisa Harney

Lisa Harney — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:00:41 +0000

I just think of Ann McDonald, who was assessed as “mentally three months old” and “severely retarded” until someone actually taught her to communicate.

The entire concept is rubbish, and is based more on assumptions than facts.

By: Stefan

Stefan — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 11:08:14 +0000

I’m reminded of a song by Rush. I don’t know the name of the song, but part of the chorus is:

Everybody’s got to deviate from the norm
Everybody’s got to elevate from the norm