subject: Mental Retardation Among Children [print this page] Joanna, aged 4 1/2, was interviewed by the director of a preschool when her parents applied to have her enrolled. Joanna smiled a great deal and was interested looking at the toys in the office. The director, however, was concerned about Joanna's inability to say her own name and address, to communicate basic information about her family, and to express her verbally. After an evaluation, Joanna was diagnosed as mildly mentally retarded, and she is now enrolled in a special school where she receives individual help in language development and academics. Her teachers feel that she is benefiting from the program and will be ready to enter a mainstream kindergarten. Parents often feel anxious when their kids display some unnatural habits or physical implication. Almost 3% of the world population is affected by mental retardation. The child IQ is the means by which mental retardation is generally classified. There are four general kinds of mental retardation. These are as follows:-
Mild:- Children with an IQ of 55-69 come under this range and are also classifies as educable. These children can live an independent life and also can work, but in the initial years of their lives they may need some special training
Moderate:- Those who have an IQ of 40-54, come under the moderate section. Its been found that 10% of the mentally retired kids are moderate and trainable. These kids may display academic potential in the kindergarten or grade one level, but mostly needs a strong family support to live a healthy life. these children can also do some kind of works, but only with specialized trainings
Severe:- Children having an IQ of 25-39 fall under this category. Almost 5% of the children who are suffering from mental retardation are unlikely to be able to learn to read or write, but may be able to be toilet trained and learn to dress with assistance. They need total supervision from the elders for their day to day activities
Profound:- Those who have an IQ of less than 24 come into this category. Only 1% of the mentally retired kids are profound sufferers of this kind of situations.
Some recent researches have some up with the fact that apart from the IQ level; this disorder can be classified on the basis of the amount of support and supervision that the individual needs.
There are a host of factors that are responsible for such disorders among children which stem from the mother:-
Prenatal causes
ochromosomal disorders, including Fragile X Syndrome
ogene defects
oexposure to toxins or infections during pregnancy
Perinatal causes
oprematurity complications
oinfection
Postnatal causes
oinfections
olead poisoning or other toxins
ometabolic disorders
ohead trauma
Mental retardation is not a disease, but a mental condition. It is true that it cannot be cured, but those who have mild mental retardation can easily lead a normal life with the proper support of parents, family members, peers and their close ones.
by: Ravi Jain
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