Has society really come to understand the disorder that plagues the lives of many or are they still being viewed as the deviant outcast in society? It is important that the term mental retardation be defined before continuing; the Merriam - Webster Collegiate Dictionary states Mental Retardation as being:" Sub average intellectual ability that is equivalent to or less than an IQ of 70, is present from birth or infancy and is manifested especially by abnormal development by learning difficulties and by problems in social adjustments".

Prior to the 18th century little was known about mental retardation, no one really knew who these people with special needs were, why they acted like they did and above all they did not know how they should be treated. In the book entitled Mental Retardation by Mary Beirne-Smith, James R. Patton, and Richard Ittenbach, it states that many people in society viewed these people as buffoons,

Mentally retarded are people who do not want to be victimized and characterized by others, just like every other person on this planet.

Throughout history, different patterns and methods of treatment were developed, but it was still not until the 20th century that retardation became a describable condition.

court jesters, and even demons. Also stated in the book entitled Mental Retardation that little service if any was provided to people with special needs, it was protective nature (i.e., providing housing and substance) and was usually offered in monasteries. My research has not uncovered much in the way where adequate training was made available during those times.

In the book entitled Mental Deficiency The Changing Outlook by Alan Clarke and Joseph Berg, it states that the origin of special education occurred in Europe in the early 1800's. It has been stated in Mental Retardation that special education was dramatically influenced by a man named Jean-Marc Itard (1774-1838). Itard was a medical doctor who was concerned with diseases of the ear and the needs of the deaf. In 1799 Itard became interested in a feral child and moved to and area in Aveyron France. During that same year Itard had an effect on many, it was because of him that another man by the name of Seguin wrote a book entitled Idiocy and Its Treatment by Physiological Methods, which became a major reference work for educating people with retardation in the latter part of the 19th century.

"Mental Retardation," Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2000 states the number of mentally retarded people living in large, state sp

Some common words found in the essay are:
Mental Retardation, Special Olympics, , Retardation Sub, President Kennedy, Retardation Individuals, Historic Asylums, Physiological Methods, Online Encyclopedia, United Nations, mentally retarded, mental retardation, 19th century, book entitled, people society, book entitled mental, people special, entitled mental, mentally retarded expect, 18th century, united nations, stated mental retardation, quality life, mentally retarded people, entitled mental retardation,
Approximate Word count = 1083
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)