Mental Retardation Definition

According to the definition, adopted by the American Association on Mental Retardation and referenced in most laws, mental retardation is a disability characterized by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social and practical adaptive skills. This disability originates before the age 18.

Mental retardation is not something you have, like blue eyes, or a bad heart. Nor is it something you are, like short, or thin.
It is not a medical disorder, nor a mental disorder.

Mental retardation is a particular state of functioning that begins in childhood and is characterized by limitation in both intelligence and adaptive skills.

Mental retardation reflects the "fit" between the capabilities of individuals and the structure and expectations of their environment.