A survey on terminology that refers to people with mental retardation developmental disabilities

A reoccurring and sometimes confusing issue in the field of Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities is the use of terminology. The purpose of the present investigation was to document the current range and frequency of terms in this field. This was done to inform those doing research of which terms are relevant for searching and disseminating information. Three computerized databases, PsycINFO, ERIC and MEDLINE were analyzed. A total of sixty-six terms; were identified as referring to people with Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities. Of this total, seven terms and their linguistic variations were found with a high frequency. The most prevalent term was mentally retarded which has been used extensively over the last fifteen years. The terms cognitive impairment and developmental disabilities have been used more frequently in the last five years. Cognitive impairment, however, often refers to a wider range of persons than those identified with Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities. Developmental disabilities is a term which is being used more frequently and although it does not always refer to just people with MR/DD, it is more universally accepted than mental retardation.