APA Dictionary of Psychology

an outdated diagnostic category applied to those with IQs of 20 to 34, comprising about 7% of people with mental retardation, the outdated and offensive term for intellectual developmental disorder (intellectual disability). Included in DSM-IV-TR, it was characterized by basic self-care activities such as dressing and eating, but only rudimentary communication, social, educational, and vocational skills, sensory and motor deficits, and a need for significant assistance and supervision. In DSM-5, the designation was changed to severe intellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder), and, in DSM-5-TR, to severe intellectual developmental disorder (intellectual disability), with the level of severity defined on the basis of adaptive functioning, rather than IQ scores.