How would you react to learning you might be mentally handicapped?

I wouldn’t suggest telling anyone that you have either of those until you have an official diagnosis. It’s really not a good idea to try to self diagnose yourself based on information off the internet. Talk to you mom first, explain to her that you have been doing some research and you have questions for her. Then make an appointment with your doctor and explain your concerns about those two syndromes to him/her. Ask your doctor if they think either of those are possible and if you could be tested for them.

If you don’t understand things that people around you are talking about, you should simply tell them that you don’t understand them. I wouldn’t tell them you have a disorder of any kind until you know for sure that you do. I hope you get some answers soon.

I wouldn’t be all that surprised, tbh.

Go and talk to a doctor about your concerns. As to how I would feel…probably relieved to finally have a name to put to my symptoms. Then I would start the journey to trying to find help.

I’d want to do a lot of research and see a doctor I trust – life goes on, a new reality, I’d adjust and probably become some kind of advocate for the disorder.

We’re all mentally handicapped, to one degree or another. Some of us just accept the fact and muddle on anyway, however we can.

I would react the same way I respond to any other diagnosis – What do I do to treat the symptoms or obtain a cure?

Whatever you call me, I’m still the person who experiences what I experience. You can call me mentally handicapped and I’m still the same person I was inside as I was before you told me that.

We all face barriers in life—many of them of our own making. I’m a smart guy, but that never stopped me from becoming mentally ill. Mentally ill. What a weird thing to say. “Mentally handicapped.” What a weird thing to say.

People can call it what they want, but it’s my experience and to me, it feels like me. I do what I do. I make the choices I make. I hurt some people. I love others. If people want to give me a break because they think I’m mentally ill, that’s up to them. I’m not asking for it. If I ask for a break, it’s because I want a break. No excuse required.

If I have trouble learning compared to others, then yes, I want them to make accommodations for me. If I need more time to take tests, then I want that time. I may be just as smart and creative as someone else except it takes me longer to do things. Is that a mental handicap? I don’t know. Someone might say it is. To me, it’s who I am, and it doesn’t change no matter what people do, but if they are kinder to me because of the label, it’s not a problem. If they condescend to me, it is a problem.

Yes, you have to explain to people that you have a hard time understanding them, and this is what you want them to do. You can’t hang a sign around your neck that says, “this person has Prader-willi syndrome” and expect them to know what that is or how to treat you appropriately.

You have to be responsible for interacting with people. You can’t expect someone else to do it for you. Mothers often do, but they aren’t doing their children any favors. Sooner or later, you have to learn how to interact with the world. Your mother may help smooth the way, but she won’t be there always. So you have to develop the skills you need, Prader-Willi or not.

@wundayatta Wow, just wow

When I found out that I was going to be diagnosed with ADD as an adult then I was relived that I had an explanation of why life was so hard in school…I didn’t have the chance to abuse it like Eric Cartman when he faked having tourettes I have a golden ticket

I only have one brain. If I learned mine was significantly different than most others in some definitive way, for better or for worse, then so what? It’s still the same brain I’ve always had. Just have to continue to do the best I can to help the people I can affect.

There are some things that you really need a trained professional to figure out. I will guess that Prader-Willi is out since, based on some info I’ve seen in your other posts, you don’t seem intellectually disabled to the point where you shouldn’t be living on your own. Trust me, if you were as bad off as many people with PWS, you probably wouldn’t be able to read about it.

As for Fragile-X, it and Autism are not well understood even by many within the medical community. That is why people such as myself have a hard time getting a definitive diagnosis.

Personally, I don’t bother trying to explain myself too much to others. It often leads to more questions than it answers. People can either accept me as I am or eat a dick. I don’t need excuses or a label.

@talljasperman While I felt the same relief after learning of my Aspergers, I feel that many people do abuse their diagnosis. I have the perfect excuse to be a total asshole, but I’m not blaming it on AS; when I am an asshole, that is all me and not my “illness”. As Temple Grandin says, Autism is no excuse for bad manners.

Wow, ALL of your replies were helpful. I’m not trying to get a golden ticket (lol), but I’ve been seeing a army doc on this subject. They pretty much word it all the way around to me not wanting to be in the army or wanting to get out, I’m going on my 9th year and I get out in less than a year, why would I try to get out earlier now than 4 years ago? The army doesnt care about the soldiers when it comes to mental aspects, so when I self reffered myself to some help, they immediantly prescribed me with effexxor and told me I’m depressed and that should do it. Taking effexxor offers less help than eating a bag of skittles. I know that if you prescribe the wrong medication to someone you misdiagnosed, you can have severe sometimes suicidal consequences. That’s the only reason why I go online and look stuff up my self. For my whole life I’ve always felt out of place or completely voided out of life, and all I wanted to know is why do I feel this way. I wasn’t looking for a money allowance from the VA or anything, I just thought that at least the army would be kind enough to say “I know what’s wrong, your mentally handicapped/learning disabled, that’s why you cant stop picking scars and scabs and biting your finger tips till they bleed and you cant look someone in the eye when you walk down the hallway and you don’t like leaving your barracks room even on leave to go see your family and friends that you havent seen in 7 years but you step grandmother just died”. I’ve already given up on living my life to enjoyment, I just wanted a reason that leads to my “answer”. :(