The Mental Status Examination in Patients With
Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
Andrew S. Levitas, M.D., Anne DesNoyers Hurley, Ph.D. & Robert Pary, M.D.

The Mental Status Examination (MSE) is a crucial part of the evaluation of any patient, providing clues to diagnosis beyond what is found in the history and serving as a check or confirmation of caregivers' reports and observations. In the case of patients with mild or moderate mental retardation, the standard MSE format can be usefully followed, although some observations may differ in significance from similar findings in patients who do not have mental retardation and developmental disabilities (MR/DD), and some phenomena may take a different form. For patients with severe or profound mental retardation the MSE format must be altered significantly to be adapted to their needs and the range of phenomena they display. It is nevertheless a useful way to organize and standardize the priceless data of patient observation.