What kind of retard is he?

[Galabab]

What kind of retard is he?

Hi,
i study architecture, and along with me there is a guy who is obviously mentally disabled.
He is very hardworking and somehow manages to stay afloat, but he is totally retarded. He also plays piano very very good. Im not an expert but he could be considered a music genious from what i heard him play.

Now im reeeally interested what kind of illness he has but i hardly can walk up to him and ask

So his illness shows itself everytime he speaks, or just from the look you can tell he is a retard. Is "retard" an offesnive term? If so excuse me english aint my first language.

He grins most of the time. Always asked otally retarded questions. Like suddenly in the middle of the lecture he interrupts and wants to know whether a door on one given building is made of metal. Just an ordinary door which wasnt subject of discussion at all. And why metal?? MAybe a bad example.
He always wants to know at wchih exact time was something build and than likes to start telling a story that he has something at home from the same period. You know like in the lecture with hundred students around.
Than he asked every single girl from our course like 80 girls, whether they want to come listen how he play piano at his place.
He is a big overweight, horny, constantly laughing, nose picking man.
I knew one other dude with the same problem back in school.
SO im really interested what it is! It must be something well known!
Any idea?

 

[TurbulentTurtle]

Re: What kind of retard is he?

I dunno, sounds like something I would, and actually do, do in front of my friends.
Probably just wants some attention and is a little eccentric.

Some of the stuff you described kinda does resemble some of the crap I do around strangers though.

 

[Spinns]

Re: What kind of retard is he?

About the retard being offensive i think it depends on what country you live in. Here in Australia political correctness has gotten so bad I got asked to leave a store because I said "those shorts look ***" and retard is definitely a big no no.

It sort of sounds like he may have autism. Is he socially awkward does he freak out if you try to touch or hug him and does he have to stick to a routine all the time?

 

[Rancors]

Re: What kind of retard is he?

a real retard wont even know that he is a retard, so depend on how u use it in the situation. if u address it to normal people sure it's offensive, but addressing to disable people who seriously have mental retardation then it's not.

but judging from ur simple observation, i think he does have some mental retardation cuz most retards do grin and laugh all the time unconciously. but again, part of him want recognition which is under conscious mind.

 

[Galabab]

Re: What kind of retard is he?

It sort of sounds like he may have autism. Is he socially awkward does he freak out if you try to touch or hug him and does he have to stick to a routine all the time?

I never tried to hug him nor will i ever, but as he aslways tries to find excuses to touch girls i dont think thats his problem. The gils are constanly afraid of him.
Sticking to a routine? I guess not more than anybody else.
But he really tries not to be late, however he sometimes misses lectures, so i dont think its that.

@Rancors:
Well actually he doesnt grin ALL the time. Maybe even not most of the time. But always when he speaks to girls lol and he ONLY speaks to girls.
yeah he sure does want recognition.

Some other examples.
He has nervous ticks from time to time. He speaks too loud. Seems never to be ashamed. Like picking his nose then staring at his finger what he has got
He sometimes suddenly has the urge to run. He dashes through the corridors. Ive ssen it like 2 times so its rather rare.
Once he started crieng becouse he didnt understand some computer program.
From his communictaion i would say he is at the level of a 5 year old with the knowledge and urges of a grown man.

I reapeat he is not normally stupid he has a very good memory and he is a very good piano player.
But then again he mostly fails at creative subjects.

 

[MinasMorgul]

Re: What kind of retard is he?

I'm no way a doctor but from what you've described, it reminds me of Savant Syndrome

Also the R-word, here anyways, has been replaced by the more politically correct terms "developmental disability" or "mentally-delayed". Mainly because the word is used alot in an offensive manner by the newer generations.

Depending on the mod's call, it may also frowned upon to use it here.

a real retard wont even know that he is a retard, so depend on how u use it in the situation. if u address it to normal people sure it's offensive, but addressing to disable people who seriously have mental retardation then it's not.

but judging from ur simple observation, i think he does have some mental retardation cuz most retards do grin and laugh all the time unconciously. but again, part of him want recognition which is under conscious mind.

How do you guage what makes a (in your words) "real retard", a "real retard"?

Also, while it may be geographical, if the person, no matter how disabled they are feels offended when they are labeled a retard, then it's still offensive, period.

I have never once in my life heard a medically certified Doctor, Psycologist etc, use that term in any form when describing a patient.

 

[BRKO]

Re: What kind of retard is he?

Hi,
i study architecture, and along with me there is a guy who is obviously mentally disabled.
He is very hardworking and somehow manages to stay afloat, but he is totally retarded...

Lol I used to know a few guys like this when I was at a law school
No demands on intellectual capacity supports these people where there is only need to learn by heart. They had nice results but otherwise we couldnt even talk to them cause they were...just different.
But the diagnosis is not menatl retardation. Its rather normal stupidity or witlesness or just being too simple to interact properly in academical environment. It doesnt ma-ma-make them hapyyy

 

[Dondrei]

Re: What kind of retard is he?

About the retard being offensive i think it depends on what country you live in. Here in Australia political correctness has gotten so bad I got asked to leave a store because I said "those shorts look ***" and retard is definitely a big no no.

What store was this?

 

[Ariadne]

Re: What kind of retard is he?

It sort of sounds like he may have autism. Is he socially awkward does he freak out if you try to touch or hug him and does he have to stick to a routine all the time?

There's more varieties into autism than you mention here but from the description in the opening post it does sound like it. Not aware at all at how he comes across.

 

[WildBerry]

Re: What kind of retard is he?

It sort of sounds like he may have autism. Is he socially awkward does he freak out if you try to touch or hug him and does he have to stick to a routine all the time?

Specifically, sounds like the Asperger's. I wouldn't sign the savant syndome right off the bat, but then again, I have no personal experience with more than a handful of autists.

 

[Sass]

Re: What kind of retard is he?

What is an idiot savant?

Current research theories show that intelligence is non-local and not bound to the brain. Sometimes nature offers insight into a particular subject by presenting a baffling enigma and contradictory example. Intelligence's contradictory enigma is the idiot-savant.

The word idiot usually refers to a simpleton, in contrast to the word "savant" in French that means "learned one." Idiot savants are a subgroup of a class of people called idiots with an IQ of about 25.

Idiot savants are a group of humans that are incapable of learning, writing or reading, yet they have unlimited access to specific, accurate knowledge in the fields of mathematics, music, and other precise areas. Now the irony of an idiot-savant is that this group of individuals does not acquire knowledge by learning as the average human does. They mysteriously 'know' explicit, exact, correct information. One may wonder: "How do idiots savants know certain information or possess certain skills?" By whatever means they obtain this information, they undermine current definitions about intelligence. Does their knowledge show that a source of intelligence exists? Is it possible to tap into this source and not know of its existence?

Dustin Hoffman made idiot-savants famous in the Hollywood movie "Rain Man." He played the role of a mathematical genius able to keep track of cards at the casino, yet unable to go to the bathroom alone or to make simple decisions about what clothes to wear or foods to eat. Modern science cannot explain this phenomenon.

Thought this tid-bit was interesting.

Is it like this?

 

[Galabab]

Re: What kind of retard is he?

Specifically, sounds like the Asperger's. I wouldn't sign the savant syndome right off the bat, but then again, I have no personal experience with more than a handful of autists.

I bow to your knowledge WildBErry!
THATS EXACTLY HIM! I read it in wikipedia, every single symptome is correct.
thanks man!
also thanks to all for the interest!

 

[Rancors]

Re: What kind of retard is he?

Also, while it may be geographical, if the person, no matter how disabled they are feels offended when they are labeled a retard, then it's still offensive, period.

I have never once in my life heard a medically certified Doctor, Psycologist etc, use that term in any form when describing a patient.

retard:
–verb (used with object) 1. to make slow; delay the development or progress of (an action, process, etc.); hinder or impede.
–verb (used without object) 2. to be delayed.
–noun 3. a slowing down, diminution, or hindrance, as in a machine.
4. Slang: Disparaging. a. a mentally retarded person.
b. a person who is stupid, obtuse, or ineffective in some way: a hopeless social retard.

retard original just mean being slow. of course u never heard people addressing in social a retarded person "a retard", but rather "he suffers mental retardation," which in essence means the same thing but in a more polite way. of course people with social conscious know that the word "retard" is used mostly as a slang.

it just like saying "your face is unpleasant to look at" is the same thing as saying "you're ugly", but "you're ugly" is shorter and direct. i like in america u can play around with words and people think some are accpetable and some are not. tell a woman "do u know u gain alot of weight" she would still get mad, when it's obviously more polite than "you're fat." also, people generally wont get upset when they are being called stupid, yet they handle differently for being called retarded.