Judge concerned after GP describes man as ‘mentally retarded’

Judge Simon Burrows said the term is offensive, and also inaccurate in the case in question.

The judge considered the man’s case at a recent hearing in the Court of Protection, where issues relating to people who lack the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves are considered, in Preston.

He was asked to make decisions relating to where the man the man should live and raised his concerns in a written ruling published online.

Judge Burrows said the man could not be identified in media reports of the case, and has not named the GP, who used the “mentally retarded” description four years ago.

The man, who is in his 30s, has suffered from Landau-Kleffner Syndrome since he was a child.

He was told that the condition causes children to lose “receptive and expressive language skills” but they retain general intelligence, the judge said.

Evidence shows that doctors diagnosed the condition when the man was about five.

The judge said the diagnosis must have been devastating for the man’s parents, and added: “It must have been particularly so if the level of advice and information they were being given is similar to that expressed by a general practitioner asked for his opinion … as recently as March 2017.”

Judge Burrows said the GP had commented: “I wish to confirm that (the man) is mentally retarded, deaf, dumb, unable to speak and unable to express his feelings due to Landau Kleffner Syndrome.”

The judge said he had a remote meeting with the man, who communicates using sign language, prior to the court hearing.

He said the man is not deaf, though he cannot understand aural language, and is “certainly not unable to express his feelings”.

Judge Burrows added: “Having discussed a number of subjects with (him) for around 30 minutes, I was, and remain, entirely unconvinced that the term ‘mentally retarded’, ignoring its offensiveness, applies to him.”

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