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Autism and I Am Sam

            One never knows what it is like being a person with mental disabilities or intellectual disability. I also know that people out here today treat people with disabilities different. I know from personal experience that people with learning disabilities are treated different. I have worked with people with mental disorders for the last five years. I have had people come up to me and thank me for the job that I do, or I have had people ask me if I am crazy for doing the job that I do. Then you overhear the whispers of people saying" Thank GOD that is not my child". It breaks my heart to hear people talk like that. With that being said I chose to do my paper on the movie I AM SAM. I chose this movie because this is a wonderful movie that represents mental retardation or intellectual disability and a couple other things that I will mention later. .
             Mental retardation means significantly sub average intellectual functioning paired with deficits in adaptive function such as self-care or occupational activities, appearing before age 18[ CITATION VMa l 1033 ]. Now mental retardation is being referred to as intellectual disability or developmental delayed because the word mentally retarded is hurtful[ CITATION CSi08 l 1033 ]. An individual is considered to have mental retardation if IQ is below 70-75. Mental retardation affects 6.2 million to 7.5 million people in America. It is ten times more common then cerebral palsy.[ CITATION The l 1033 ] Mental retardation is caused by abnormal genes or from other disorders of genes caused during pregnancy by infection[ CITATION The l 1033 ]. There are three classification of mental retardation. The first one is Mild retardation. In this class the individual who's IQ score is in the range of 50-70. They are also capable of living and working independently, and capable of learning basic academic subjects[ CITATION VMa l 1033 ]. Then there is Moderate retardation.


Essays Related to Autism and I Am Sam

1. I Am Sam: A Diagnostic View Mental Retardation and Autist Sp

... with reading the first couple of words from one of her third grade reading books. This book is obviously beyond his reading ability and Lucy rescues him by suggesting they read I Am Sam, by Dr. Sues, a book that is familiar and more appropriate for her father's reading ability. In another scene, Lucy clearly indicates that her intellectual abilities are much more sophisticated than her ... developmental disorder or autistic traits. Because of his strong cognitive and language abilities, Sam does not meet DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for classic autism. However, many of Sam's restrictive, ...

  • Word Count: 3599
  • Approx Pages: 14
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. I Am Sam

... touch the heart. "I Am Sam" is the story of an autistic adult and his struggle to maintain custody of his daughter. The movie deals with a controversial issue and forces the viewer to sympathize with Sam the autistic father who is trying to maintain custody of his child. Sean Penn, who plays Sam, does an amazing job acting the part of an individual with autism but this is ... unattached but the changes in his life would have thrown off his routines causing tantrum like results. Sam handles the stress of life in this movie with the ease of an individual with average intelligence and with...

  • Word Count: 1617
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Psychology Debate: I Am Sam

Sam is developmentally disabled as he is an autistic individual and his mental capacity is that of a seven year old, whereas his daughter, Lucy is a normal child and progressively develops according to her age.  As Lucy nears her seventh birthday, her development surpasses that of her father. Lucy's teacher is worried and displays her concern regarding Lucy to Sam as she states, Lucy's developmental progress is being hindered as a result of Sam's disability. According to the teacher, Lucy is observed holding herself back and unable to achieve her full potential due to her father's autistic na...

  • Word Count: 3383
  • Approx Pages: 14
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

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