2011 Connecticut Code
Title 1 Provisions of General Application
Chapter 1 Construction of Statutes
Sec. 1-1g. "Mental retardation", defined.

      Sec. 1-1g. "Mental retardation", defined. (a) For the purposes of sections 4a-60, 17a-274, 17a-281, 38a-816, 45a-669 to 45a-684, inclusive, 46a-51, 53a-59a, 53a-60b, 53a-60c and 53a-61a, mental retardation means a significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period.

      (b) As used in subsection (a) of this section, "general intellectual functioning" means the results obtained by assessment with one or more of the individually administered general intelligence tests developed for that purpose and standardized on a significantly adequate population and administered by a person or persons formally trained in test administration; "significantly subaverage" means an intelligence quotient more than two standard deviations below the mean for the test; "adaptive behavior" means the effectiveness or degree with which an individual meets the standards of personal independence and social responsibility expected for the individual's age and cultural group; and "developmental period" means the period of time between birth and the eighteenth birthday.

      (P.A. 78-148, S. 1; P.A. 80-259, S. 3; P.A. 82-51, S. 1; P.A. 83-587, S. 1, 96; P.A. 99-122, S. 5; P.A. 05-288, S. 1.)

      History: P.A. 80-259 added reference to Sec. 38-61(12); P.A. 82-51 clarified terms used in the statutory definition in new Subsec. (b) and updated list of applicable sections in prior provisions, now Subsec. (a); P.A. 83-587 made a technical amendment; P.A. 99-122 amended Subsec. (a) to make definition applicable to Secs. 53a-59a, 53a-60b, 53a-60c and 53a-61a; (Revisor's note: In 2005, a reference to Sec. "45a-668" was changed editorially by the Revisors to Sec. "45a-669" since Sec. 45a-668 was repealed by P.A. 04-54); P.A. 05-288 made a technical change in Subsec. (b), effective July 13, 2005.

      Interpreting section to allow consideration of all intelligence tests that meet the statutory criteria best furthers legislature's intent to clarify and narrow definition of mental retardation to ensure that persons with borderline normal intelligence are not classified as mentally retarded, to prevent inappropriate commitment of such persons to mental retardation facilities and to assure that limited administrative resources are devoted to those most in need. 277 C. 594.