The definition of what constitutes mental retardation is changing.
Historically, mental retardation, once called feeblemindedness, idiocy, and mental deficiency, was based strictly on the scientific result of the IQ test.Anyone scoring below 70 on the IQ test was known to be mentally retarded. According to Psychiatric Services, that definition is changing.In fact, even the name is changing. It is now referred to as intellectual disabilities and the diagnosis is less based on the IQ test and more on the functional abilities of the individual in question.
Some in the field are objecting to taking science out of the diagnosis of the diseases. They say that looking at the adaptation of the individual in society is too vague whereas the IQ test is more specific. They say it degrades the diagnosis to use such vague methods of diagnosing it. Still others say that some children who ride the line just above the IQ cutoff are denied services in school when they clearly need the services and that a functional diagnosis would help these children greatly.