As children grow up, it is the hope of their parents that they grow into fine adults both physically as well as mentally. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. There are a number of individuals with intellectual disabilities within the general population of Portsmouth, PA who need to be understood and treated specially. While the condition is present in both children and adults it is usually identified during the early childhood years.
This condition was formerly known as mental retardation. In some cases, it may coexist with physical developmental abnormalities such as is the case of Down syndrome and foetal alcohol syndrome. There are a number of risk factors that have been identified. These are broadly divided into biomedical, social, behavioural and educational. Infections occurring during the prenatal period are a significant case.
One of the biggest challenges that affect these people is the difficulty in learning new things. They tend to take a long time to grasp issues. For this reason, one needs to have a lot of patience when teaching them. There is a need to repeat things several times for the child to understand. As a result, many of the affected children have to be enrolled into special schools where they will be given individualised attention.
Although the signs may be obvious from the onset, the general advice is that one should consult a psychiatrist for proper diagnosis. Contrary to common belief, an IQ test alone is not enough. In addition to a low IQ there should also be impairment in intellectual functioning, adaptive behaviour and an onset before 18 years of age. An IQ test of less than 75 is regarded as unfavourable.
Adaptive behaviour has three main components. These are conceptual skills, practical skills and social skills. The conceptual skills are those that are related to money, number concepts, language and literacy and self direction. Social skills are useful in the creation and maintenance of interpersonal skills. Practical skills are useful for virtually all the activities we do on a daily basis. These include personal grooming, eating, and playing. The extent of limitation varies among affected persons.
Since there are different degrees of limitation, classification is often necessary to help in instituting the appropriate form of management. The assessment of an individual should take into account their immediate community. The intellectual functioning of the individual must be below that of the surrounding population for a positive diagnosis to be made.
Research has shown that there is room for prevention of this condition albeit to a small extent. The general approach is to target the main causes or risk factors. For instance, couples who intend to get married should undergo genetic counselling particularly in cases where there is a positive family history. Robust social support systems help in the reduction of incidences.
Intellectual disability is the commonest type of developmental disabilities. Although it presents a major challenge to both the child and the parent, it can be managed. The outcomes are variable and depend mainly on the extent of limitation and level of training. The key to better results is depends on timely diagnosis and specialised training. It is wrong to discriminate against persons with the disability since it is not a disease.
This condition was formerly known as mental retardation. In some cases, it may coexist with physical developmental abnormalities such as is the case of Down syndrome and foetal alcohol syndrome. There are a number of risk factors that have been identified. These are broadly divided into biomedical, social, behavioural and educational. Infections occurring during the prenatal period are a significant case.
One of the biggest challenges that affect these people is the difficulty in learning new things. They tend to take a long time to grasp issues. For this reason, one needs to have a lot of patience when teaching them. There is a need to repeat things several times for the child to understand. As a result, many of the affected children have to be enrolled into special schools where they will be given individualised attention.
Although the signs may be obvious from the onset, the general advice is that one should consult a psychiatrist for proper diagnosis. Contrary to common belief, an IQ test alone is not enough. In addition to a low IQ there should also be impairment in intellectual functioning, adaptive behaviour and an onset before 18 years of age. An IQ test of less than 75 is regarded as unfavourable.
Adaptive behaviour has three main components. These are conceptual skills, practical skills and social skills. The conceptual skills are those that are related to money, number concepts, language and literacy and self direction. Social skills are useful in the creation and maintenance of interpersonal skills. Practical skills are useful for virtually all the activities we do on a daily basis. These include personal grooming, eating, and playing. The extent of limitation varies among affected persons.
Since there are different degrees of limitation, classification is often necessary to help in instituting the appropriate form of management. The assessment of an individual should take into account their immediate community. The intellectual functioning of the individual must be below that of the surrounding population for a positive diagnosis to be made.
Research has shown that there is room for prevention of this condition albeit to a small extent. The general approach is to target the main causes or risk factors. For instance, couples who intend to get married should undergo genetic counselling particularly in cases where there is a positive family history. Robust social support systems help in the reduction of incidences.
Intellectual disability is the commonest type of developmental disabilities. Although it presents a major challenge to both the child and the parent, it can be managed. The outcomes are variable and depend mainly on the extent of limitation and level of training. The key to better results is depends on timely diagnosis and specialised training. It is wrong to discriminate against persons with the disability since it is not a disease.
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