Court Opinion

ID: 9636379
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 14:26:13.39282+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:09:44.797335
License: Public Domain

MONTEMURO, Judge,
concurring:
I Concur. Although I agree with the reasoning and conclusion of Judge Wieand’s opinion, I feel compelled to make these additional comments.
An adult such as Kimberly, with a mental age of four or eight, depending’ on the test, is still not a child. The mentally disabled adult is not placed with third grade children even though the mental age is that of an eight year old. The child whose mental and chronological age coincide, is expected to move from a given mental and social age to one significantly higher. This is accomplished by integrating the experiences in the family, the school, and the community, so that eventually the non-mentally disabled child can achieve full self sufficiency.
The mentally retarded person, on the other hand, changes but in a most limited measure. At twenty-five, the person with a mental age of eight has needs that are different from those of an eight year old child. The mentally retarded twenty-five year old needs stability, orderly living, and opportunities to feel useful. The. needs are to affirm those objectives that are desirable for other adults. Clearly, the mentally retarded individual has the same desires as other adults for social approval, respect, and freedom in such matters as style of living, personal preferences, freedom of association, and choices of work. I submit that this free*89dom should only be curtailed where the decisions of the retarded adult are hazardous to himself or others. Where there is imminent danger, the role of society is a protective one; it does not intrude into other aspects of the person’s life outside this narrow range. Society’s role should never be a restrictive one that countermands or contradicts the wishes of the mentally retarded adult.