Argentina uses disuse terms to classify people with disabilities
Deficiency levels, previously classified as mild, moderate, severe or deep, were renamed. What was once a division between these levels of intellectual disability was categorized as “idiot”, “imbecile” and three levels of “mental”: deep, moderate or light. According to the new classification:
- Idiot: It has not gone through the Glossic stage (that is, it has no basic communication skills), it does not read or writes, does not know the money, does not control the sphincters, does not meet their basic needs, cannot survive alone;
- Imbecile: Do not read or write, meet your elementary needs, can perform rudimentary tasks;
- Deep mental weak: Just signs, has simple vocabulary, not dealing with money, can perform rudimentary tasks;
- Moderate mental weak: Reads, writes, performs simple operations, knows the money, can do work of low intellectual requirements;
- Mild mental weak: He has attended elementary school and sometimes high school, can perform more wingspan.
The theme has become the target of criticism in Argentina. The document was released by a critical profile to the government of Mililei In the X (former Twitter) on Thursday, stating that the decree “violates international agreements against discrimination”. A publication of the director of AidDiego Spagnuoloin which it compares the Kirchnerism To a “mental illness,” was rescued by netizens.
ES UNA LOCURA. El Gobierno has just decreed that there people with discapacidad ahora if los is clear as “idiot”, “imbisuous” y “weak mental”. Esta is in the Official Boletin and Viola International Affiliates Against La Discriminación pic.twitter.com/oo1tj85upf
– Regular from Milei (@arrepentidoslla) February 27, 2025
Entities linked to direct people with disabilities and human rights call for the revocation of the standard. The request questions, among other points, “the attempt to ‘measure’ the supposed ‘disability’ of people, using medical criteria that disregard the social model of disability”, as well as contest the terms used in the new classification. Activists also report the violation of principles of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other UN recommendations.
