General Resource: AAIDD

Specific Page: MR FAQ

            This is the website for the American Association on Intellectual and Development Disabilities (AAIDD).   The most interesting page I found within the website was an FAQ about MR.  After giving the AAIDD definition of MR as we discussed in class, the FAQ goes on to define terms within that definition.  It explains terms such as disability, intelligence/IQ, and adaptive behavior.  Perhaps most useful are two lists: one of adaptive behaviors and the other of different areas of support activities – such as home living, employment, and social activities.  It portrays students with intellectual disabilities realistically, acknowledging possible pitfalls for such students, such as naivety.  As the AAIDD is the recognized American research center for IDD, its definitions are very careful detailed and worded.  They give a helpful picture of what a teacher might expect out of a student with an intellectual disability while at the same time showing a spectrum of functional possibilities for the student.  The general website also features access to various research articles published in the journal Intellectual and Development Disabilities and provides links to off-site resources for teachers, parents, and others interested in learning more.

Work cited:

AAIID.  “Definition of Mental Retardation.”  5 December 2007.

<http://www.aamr.org/Policies/faq_mental_retardation.shtml>