Sam eventually gets his daughter back but not without omission of his own limitations and enlisting the assistance of Lucy's foster mother who also acknowledges Sam's commitment and love for his daughter. .
During Sam's child custody trial, the prosecution attempts to demonstrate that Sam is mentally retarded (MR) an incapable of parenting his daughter. After being evaluated by a psychiatrist, it is determined that Sam meets criteria for MR because his functional level is that of a seven year old. There are several assumptions that need to be made here. First, it is assumed that the psychiatrist referenced the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) or DSM-IV-TR to support the claim that Sam demonstrated significantly subaverage intellectual functioning by acquiring a 70 or below on an IQ test. Sam had to have also demonstrated concurrent deficits in adaptive functioning in at least two of the following areas: communication, self-care, home living, social/interpersonal skills, use of community resources, self-directions, functional academic skills, work, health, and safety (DSM-IV-TR, 2000). .
How the examiner determined Sam's intellectual functioning is not clear. His actual IQ is never stated. In court, it is reveled that Sam was placed in an institution at a very young age due to his mother's poor heath. There is insufficient evidence to suggest that his mother was ill during her pregnancy and that such illness may have contributed to Sam's condition. Likewise, there is no information that suggests the existence of a pre or post-natal illness and or trauma that might indicate that Sam's MR maybe the result of a general medical condition. .
Given the scarcity of background information, the etiology and onset of Sam's mental condition are indecipherable. Though pertinent developmental information is lacking, statements made in two scenes suggest that Sam's IQ falls into the MR range.
