Borderline intellectual functioning

Borderline intellectual functioning, also called borderline mental disability, is a categorization of intelligence wherein a person has below average cognitive ability (generally an IQ of 70-85),^[1] but the deficit is not as severe as intellectual disability (below 70). It is sometimes called below average IQ (BAIQ). This is technically a cognitive impairment; however, this group is not sufficiently mentally disabled to be eligible for specialized services.^[2] Additionally, the DSM-IV-TR codes borderline intellectual functioning as V62.89,^[3] which is generally not a billable code, unlike the codes for mental disabilities.

During school years, individuals with borderline intellectual functioning are often "slow learners."^[2] Although a large percentage of this group fails to complete high school and can often achieve only a low socioeconomic status, most adults in this group blend in with the rest of the population.^[2]

See also

• IQ classification

References

1. TP Alloway (May 2010). "Working memory and executive function profiles of individuals with borderline intellectual functioning" 54 (5): 448–56. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2010.01281.x. PMID 20537050.
2. The Best Test Preparation for the Advanced Placement Examination in Psychology, Research & Education Association. (2003), p. 99
3. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. 2000. ISBN 0-89042-025-4.

Further reading

• Gillberg, Christopher (1995). Clinical child neuropsychiatry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 47–48. ISBN 0-521-54335-5.
• Harris, James C. (2006). Intellectual disability : understanding its development, causes, classification, evaluation, and treatment. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-517885-8.
• Ninivaggi, Frank J., Borderline intellectual functioning and academic problems. In: Sadock BJ, Sadock VA, Ruiz P, eds. Kaplan & Sadock's Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry. 9th ed. Vol. II. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluver/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2009: 2505-2512. ISBN 978-07817-6899-3.