Millions of people with intellectual disability, whose diagnosis is the basis for early intervention, health care, training, employment, citizenship, and civil and criminal justice determinations, could find their eligibility for services disrupted if the American Psychiatric Association finalizes its draft manual in its current form.
The draft of next edition of the most widely used mental health diagnostic manual in the U.S. is available online for public comment; it calls for major changes in the diagnosis and name for intellectual disability.
For this manual to be finalized in its current form would be disastrous; the changes will lead to confusion among those who establish eligibility criteria for the services needed by many children and adults.
In October 2010, the president signed “Rosa’s Law,” which replaced the term “mental retardation” with “intellectual disability” in federal education, health and labor laws.
The stakes are high for people with intellectual disability. The American Psychiatric Association’s highly influential manual should be aligned with contemporary science and practice.
— Margaret A. Nygren, executive director and CEO, American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Washington
