Section 197-3-1 - POLICY STATEMENT ON MENTAL RETARDATIONAs part of its process for the provision of services to persons with mental retardation, the Office utilizes the definition of mental retardation as adopted by the American Association on Mental Retardation and the American Psychiatric Association.
"Mental retardation refers to significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior, and manifested during the developmental period". ( 34-B MRSA §5001(3)) .
1. Sub-average intellectual functioning is defined as an intelligence quotient obtained by assessment with one or more of the individually administered general intelligence tests, e.g. Wechsler Scales, Stanford-Binet, Cattell or comparable tests. Individuals obtaining a score more than two standard deviations below the mean (average) score (approximate I.Q. score of 70) will be assessed as having subnormal intelligence, e.g., Wechsler approximately 69, Stanford-Binet, approximately 67.2. Adaptive behavior is defined as the effectiveness or degree with which the individual meets the standards of personal independence and social responsibility expected of his age and cultural group. Level of adaptive behavior will be appropriately determined through the use of developmental scales, such as the AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scales, Vineland Social Maturity Scale, Fairview Developmental Scale, Callier-Azusa Scale, the Alpern Bolls Assessment Scale, etc. Other scales may be used, but must have appropriate standardization and norms to effectively assess adaptive behavior. Individuals having scored more than two standard deviations below the mean for normal age peers, or otherwise falling within a similar normative classification of 'Developmental Retardation" (depending on instrument used), shall be determined to have deficits significant enough to be considered as potentially having mental retardation.3. Developmental period is defined as age eighteen (18) years or younger. Once an applicant has been determined ineligible for services, reapplications shall only be considered if there is new information concerning the applicant's functioning during the developmental period.