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Borderline intellectual functioning, previously called borderline mental retardation (in the ICD-8),^[1] is a categorization of intelligence wherein a person has below average cognitive ability (generally an IQ of 70–85),^[2] 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 may not be sufficiently mentally disabled to be eligible for specialized services.^[3]

The DSM-IV-TR code of borderline intellectual functioning is V62.89.^[4] DSM-5 diagnosis codes are V62.89 and R41.83.^[5]

During school years, individuals with borderline intellectual functioning are often "slow learners".^[3] 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.^[3]

According to the DSM-5, differentiating borderline intellectual functioning and mild intellectual disability requires careful assessment of adaptive and intellectual functions and their variations, especially in the presence of co-morbid psychiatric disorders that may affect patient compliance with standardized test (for example, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with severe impulsivity or schizophrenia).^[5]

• IQ classification
• Special education

• 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.