retards mentaux inexpliqués

11:27 Jul 18, 2014 

Yes, in asker's context best to use 'cause', rather than 'etiology'.

09:35 Jul 18, 2014 

I agree totally with BD about the PC side of naming conditions and disorders. Down syndrome or trisomy 21 in France used to be called "mongolisme" not as an insult but as a way of describing the disorder, if you get called a "gogol" you're being called an idiot, it comes directly from that word.
So to avoid this the name was changed to Trisomie 21 and lo and behold a new insult was invented "triso"
What is important is not the name but the public perception of the disorder.
There was a mini scandal here a few weeks ago when a television presenter said that when she was born she was so ugly that her mother thought she was "trisomique".

Another case in point is the word negro. It was considered the correct term for describing people from Africa with "black" skin because it was considered insulting to call them black. Then the word fell into the register of insults because of segregation it then became acceptable for African Americans to call each other Negros or even Niggers (just listen to any Rap song).
All I'm trying to say is that it's not the word that is important but the connotation and the usage.

09:17 Jul 18, 2014 

I cannot post a comment as the question has been restricted to members only. I reckon that in context, that just as "idiopathic" needs to be avoided, then "etiology" needs to be avoided too. The French uses non specialist language and it is best the English does too.

19:50 Jul 17, 2014 

I have exactly the same reading as you with regard to the term "retard". I did put "politically correct" in ivnerted commas BD ;-).
ASD is my particular field of interest. You will no doubt be aware that in France about 4-5 years ago, the terrm "autiste" was used among ados as an insult the way "retard" was used when I was at school. Parents groups protested also, more in fact, when politicians and people with a high public profile would use the term "autiste". In the post-grad I did, and at scientific conferences I have attended on ASD in France and in the UK, "politically sorrect" has been used when describing the sentivity/insensitivty issue. (Glad kids are not using it much any more). Apparently still comes up in the press : http://www.lemonde.fr/le-magazine/article/2014/06/27/autiste...

I protested myself about a FB page which really took an abusive wholly irrespectful line asking people to say who they thought was the most autistic. It really was a bad page, the term being used as a insult! It was finally removed.

19:24 Jul 17, 2014 

I think that the term "politically correct" is incorrect here. It's really a question of sensitivity to the fact that "retarded" has long been used as a term of abuse and that the patient and their family can suffer if that term is used. Unfortunately, terms of abuse tend to catch up with new terminology created to avoid them.

18:53 Jul 17, 2014 

"Undaignosed" is not the same as "unexplained".

18:53 Jul 17, 2014 

Sticking fairly close to the original, and not far from the DSM terminology either, is "retard mental" (DSM-IV-TR) 317 : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_codes_DSM-IV

The English original for that is "mental retardation" 317 here too : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSM-IV_Codes_(alphabetical)

The DSM V is put together differently to the DSM-IV. "Mental retardation" no longer appears. In the chapter on Neurodevelopmental Disorders, there are headings such as Intellectual DIsabilities, INtellectual Developmental Disorders with 4 bands of severity.

I agree that it is important to bear in mind the "politically correct" issue, particularly as the English-speaking world the US tends to give the lead, followed by the UK. France in catching up but is often a little behind the beat on this sort of thing. "Idiopathic" springs to mind for "unexplained" along with "neurodevelopmental", disorder" and so on. Given your context, and the fact that ASD is possible but not the only possibility, then ordinary language is best ; DSM stuff will be either irrelevant and/or scary if the idea is to get parents into the centre. "Unexplained" is clear, "developmental" is fine, "neuro" can be scary.

18:29 Jul 17, 2014 

Hello Cathy,
A PDD NOS is a term recognised in the DSM-IV-TR and I'm not sure that term has been retained in the DSM-V. However, PDD translates back in French to "troubles envahissants du développement". It is not quite the right match for this "retards mentaux inexpliqués". I think the idea of the French original context seems to be in the first instance, not using terms those familiar with the DSM terminology can get straight away.
I have the DSM-IV-TR in French to hand, and the DSM-5 but the latter only in English. I'm not sure the French version is available yet.

17:36 Jul 17, 2014 

Again thank you all for your help - much appreciated!

14:45 Jul 17, 2014 

Hi Christine,

Speaking as the parent of 2 children who have gone through this diagnostic process--in the United States-- I can tell you that the term used here is Pervasive Developmental Delay, Not Otherwise Specified, often abbreviated PDD NOS.
Cheers.
Cathy Earle ('cearle')

13:29 Jul 17, 2014 

Thank you very much!

12:51 Jul 17, 2014 

UNDIAGNOSED mental/ cognitive impairment.