Kyle Wright

James D. Bergstein
College Writing II
4 May 2016
The Mentally Disabled
Throughout history, the mentally disabled have been looked at as being a frail part of
society, and in order to reverse this commonly shared idea the public needs to become less
ignorant to what it means to be mentally disabled. The stigma placed on the mentally disabled is
that they are useless to society, and this results in the mistreatment and the lack of equality for
these people. Although the creation of many organizations have helped eradicate some of these
injustices, there are still many examples past and present where those whom are mentally
disabled have faced unequal treatment. As of recent, governments around the world have started
to crack down on the caretaking and rights of the mentally disabled.
One of the most common misuses of the title mentally disabled is when society uses it as
a derogatory term to describe a person who says or acts in an idiotic way, when in reality
someone with mental disabilities is described as having an IQ of of below 70 joined with a lack
of ability to do daily functions (Mental Retardation). This differs from average people who
usually have an IQ around 90 to 110. It is important to note that in order to be labeled as
mentally disabled, one must also have a severely difficult time preforming every day tasks like
communicating and maintaining self health.
Another term that society offensively uses to describe people whom they believe are
acting idiotic is retarded. For some time, mental retardation was the politically used term for

people with mental disabilities, but as of now the use of retard and mental retardation has
been replaced by intellectually disabled due to the derogatory connotation that has been
attached to the word (Freedman 1). (In order to avoid confusion, this paper will use the term
mentally disabled due to its common use within research material.) In recent years, there has
been a push to remove the use of the term retard in society, and this has resulted in many Anti
R-Word campaigns. One of the biggest online activist groups is r-word.org, which advertises the
slogan, Spread the word to end the word, in hope to create, More accepting attitudes and
communities for all people, (Spread the Word). The use of retardation started as a medical term,
but over the years it has grown to a popular insult for teenagers and adults alike. It is easy to
conclude that intellectually disabled was chosen as an alternate term because of its difficulty to
be turned into derogatory slang.
Mentally disabled people come from all different cultures, so it is safe to say that the
stigma on those whom are mentally disabled is also felt all around the world. Ironically though,
America or the land of liberty tends to have higher stigma rates against the mentally disabled
than other Eastern cultures (Corrigan 16-17). This enlarged stigma rate is fueled by many false
ideas held by ignorant Americans. A study of 2000 English and American citizens proved that
many believe that all mentally disabled people are, childlike and need to be taken care of,
when in reality this is not the case (Corrigan 17). Those whom are mentally disabled can be
categorized into mildly, moderately, and severely disabled based on IQ levels. A mildly disabled
person has an IQ between 50-70, a moderately disabled person is between 35-50, and a severely
disabled person is between 20-35 (Polloway 5). A mildly disabled person disproves this
American idea because most mildly disabled people are usually hard to detect since their

handicap is not very severe (National Institute of Corrections 14). This means they can act and
function with little problems, but they still have minor intellectual flaws. Mildly disabled people
consist of 85% of the mentally disabled population, so to claim that all persons with mental
disabilities are childlike is not factually supported (Polloway 5).
Because of the social stigma placed on those with mental disabilities, many injustices
have occurred as a result. One of the most common places where the mentally disabled face
injustice is when it comes to abuse; a study shows that people whom are mentally disabled are at
the greatest risk of being abused (Abuse and Exploitation of People with Developmental
Disabilities). There are many hypothesizes as to why the mentally disabled are the most
commonly abused, but there really is no good way to explain it for certain. One of the most
accepted ideas is that they are abused more than others because they are less likely to go to the
police or other aiding organizations for help (Abuse and Exploitation of People with
Developmental Disabilities). One could also assume the mentally disabled may not recognize
that help is even available or that abuse is not anything out of the ordinary. Children with mental
disabilities are extremely vulnerable to abuse granted that most do not even know what abuse is.
A recent study supports this by finding that mentally disabled children are 3.4 times more likely
to be abused than other children (Davis). Alike most regular child abuse cases, abuse of mentally
disabled people also often goes unreported because these individuals usually rely on the people
abusing them for basic needs like food and shelter (Davis). Abuse can come from family,
educators, and caregivers, all of which the mentally disabled look up to as lifelines.
Another place the mentally disabled face injustice is ironically in the criminal justice
system. The mentally disabled population is no stranger to the court room, and this includes as

being the victim as well as the suspect. However, it is safe to say to mentally disabled people are
more likely to be found on the victims side of the court room. Compared to the average person,
the mentally disabled are up to ten times more likely to be the victim of a crime (Davis). Despite
this fact, it is very easy to forget how much of a role the mentally disabled still play as the
suspects of crimes. Research supports that the mentally disabled produce about 10% of U.S
prison population, which is quite a jump since they only represent about 2% of the whole
population (Davis). One could argue that this difference in percentages comes as a result from
the mishandling of what should happened to the mentally disabled when they break the law.
There are many different ideas on what should happen to the mentally disabled in terms
of criminal punishment. Some people believe that they are unable to justify right from wrong and
they should be helped rather than punished for their behaviors, while others believe that the law
is the law and they should be punished for their wrong doings. One of the most controversial
topics when it comes to this is the argument should the mentally disabled also face capital
punishment, or otherwise known as the death penalty. This is not only a debate within the U.S
borders, but it has also become a world wide topic. Along with support from multiple other
international human rights groups, The U.S Supreme Court determined that the no person
classified as being mentally disabled should face the death penalty (Freedman 1). The Supreme
Court case Atkins v. Virginia marked this precedent in 2002 (Davis). In the time leading up to this
ground breaking case, the argument in favor of the mentally disabled was that capital punishment
was breaking the 8th Amendment as being cruel and unusual because the mentally disabled
arent in complete control of their own body. Before this federal outlaw of the execution of the
mentally disabled, some states had already began to label it as unconstitutional on a state level.

Out of the 38 states at the time who allowed the death penalty, eighteen of these states had
already determined they would not force capital punishment among the mentally disabled
(Mental Retardation and the Death Penalty).
Although Atkins v. Virginia made it clear that the mentally disabled cannot be executed, it
still left some things up to question. One thing that was left out of the Supreme Courts decision
was a national definition of who is defined as mentally disabled, and this then resulted in to
individual states creating their own guidelines as of to whom is classified as mentally disabled
(Mental Retardation and the Death Penalty). As stated above, the most commonly accepted
descriptions of someone mentally disabled means one has difficulties doing daily tasks and one
has an IQ of 70 or below, but the problem is not all states adopt this definition of mental
disabilities. For example, some states will classify people on IQ levels alone, whiles others will
only classify people based on their ability to go through daily life (Intellectual Disability and the
Death Penalty). With these varying definitions around the U.S, it is very easy for some people to
face capital punishments in some states but then be exempt from it in others. Before The
Supreme Court case Hall v. Florida, a major problem that resulted from only looking at IQ
scores is that someone fully capable could produce an IQ score of 69 and not have to face the
death penalty while someone truly disconnected from daily life could produce an IQ score of 71
and still have to face the death penalty. In this case during 2014, The Supreme Court ruled that
these strict IQ guidelines were unconstitutional (Intellectual Disability and the Death Penalty).
Although rights for the mentally disabled have definitely been gaining more attention
over the years, it still hasnt reached all corners of the globe yet, and even the places that is has
reached are just now starting to create legislation in response. Research shows that 40% of

countries in the whole world have absolutely no mental health legislation at all, and this statistic
is low compared to the 64% of countries who do not have legislation older than ten years
(Mental Health Legislation & Human Rights). This means in 40% of the countries around the
world the mentally disabled face countless amounts of injustices in which the government
condones or just blatantly ignores. Luckily, the United States is one of the few countries that
have given significant legislative rights to the the mentally disabled in order to battle the
injustices they face. In the U.S, the federal law states that mentally disabled people have the
same basic rights that all other people have (Rights of the Mentally Disabled). This differs
largely from other countries who do not give anyone basic rights, yet alone the mentally
disabled.
A lot of countries do not treat their mentally disabled populations much notice, but some
countries have gone to the extent of attacking their mentally disabled populations. One of the
most horrific examples of this was during World War II when Germany, in hopes to create a
master race, tried to eliminate its entire mentally disabled population within its borders. This
program was called Germanys Euthanasia Program by the Nazis, and the mentally disabled
were along with multiple other groups the Nazis hoped to rid itself from (The Murder of the
Handicapped). This program did not only derail the progress of rights for the mentally disabled
world wide, but it also created a large stain when it comes to governmental involvement with the
rights of the mentally disabled. The ideas that influence the German government to take action
against the mentally disabled were that the mentally disabled were useless and unworthy of life
since they offered no advantages to society (The Murder of the Handicapped). These ideas were
nothing new to the world, and maybe some citizens in the U.S felt like this, but this was the first

time a government allowed these ideas to be inserted into its legislation. This resentment for the
mentally disabled results from many years of prejudice that is usually backed by the ideas that
they are a waste of tax payers money for food, housing, and health care, while others just have a
pure hatred for them because they are different.
It may seem like an issue of the past, but mentally disabled people are still facing much
discrimination today. One recent and semi-local case of discrimination took place on May 4th
2016 when rapper Curtis Jackson III, or otherwise known as 50 Cent, disparaged a mentally
disabled man at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport for being crazy and
looking as if he was on drugs while he was working (Baker). Although at the time Curtis had no
knowledge of this mans disability, he has sparked outrage over the fact that the possibility of
him being mentally disabled never even ran through his head. Granted that situations like this
happen every day, this case broke the media due to the ignorance of such a public star like 50
Cent to the growing mentally disabled population going into the work force.
Mentally disabled people working normal jobs is nothing new to society, but as of recent
there has been a push to get even more of the higher functioning mentally disabled population
working to aid society. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has made it a lot easier for
those mentally disabled to receive and maintain steady jobs within society. The ADA states that
people with disabilities have all the equal opportunities of becoming employed as those whom
are not disabled (Employment Laws: Disability & Discrimination). This means that not only can
the mentally disabled work in the same places as everyone else, but they also get paid just as
much. One place where the mentally disabled are employed is in specialized workshops where
they are taught to use the skills in which they excel. Some of these jobs include sorting,

packaging, inspection, heat sealing, assembly line production, and assembling (Subcontract
Specialists). These programs are usually organized by individual states, with the closest one
being Portage Industries in Ravenna Ohio. A major advantage that results from these county
based workshops is that it can act as the first step for the mentally disabled when trying to enter
the normal work force. The basic repetitive skills that the mentally disabled learn within these
workshops is one reason why the they can commonly be found working in fast food
establishments where producing orders uses a lot of the same techniques with nothing too
difficult (Elztahry 47).
Not only are the mentally disabled incorporated in daily work life, but they have also
made their way in to one of the worlds most common activities, sports. The Special Olympics is
a worldwide organization created to allow everyone feel accepted and welcomed by bringing
everyone together through athletics (The Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation for the Benefit of
Persons with Intellectual Disabilities). These sports allow the mentally disabled to show what
they can do rather than being scrutinized for what they cant do. The Special Olympics has
joined forces with 170 countries to produce more than 4 million athletes, whom have had their
lives changed forever by feeling included in society (The Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation for
the Benefit of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities). This organization has allowed the mentally
disabled to gain positive spotlight around the world which has helped reverse the stigma that
comes with the idea of being mentally disabled.
Overall, after many years of facing disconnection from society the mentally disabled are
beginning to gain traction in their fight for equality. Between the governments around the world
and other third party advocating organization, the mentally disabled have also began to gain legal

status to help fight the many injustices they face on a daily basis. Also, with the growing change
of opinion about using terms like retard derogatorily, the stigma that used to come along with
being mentally disabled is becoming erased. Perhaps someday the mentally disabled will not be
outcasts in society, and they will be just like any other group of people in society.

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