Understanding Intellectual Disability

Children with special educational needs are children first and have much in common with other children of the same age. There are many aspects to a child’s development that make up the whole child, including – personality, the ability to communicate (verbal and non-verbal), resilience and strength, the ability to appreciate and enjoy life and the desire to learn. Each child has individual strengths, personality and experiences so particular disabilities will impact differently on individual children. A child’s special educational need should not define the whole child.

To be able to identify children with disabilities and special needs, it is important to have a general understanding about various type of disabilities and management plan . Several terms and phrases related to disabilities and special needs create some amount of confusion, perhaps misunderstanding. This paper provides an overview of children with intellectual disability incorporating definition, causes and classification for conceptual understanding.

Intellectual Disability

The term intellectual disability refers to the level of cognitive functioning that is demonstrated by particular children. It is the circumstance in which a children’s cognitive functioning is impeded to the point of causing a significant disability in receiving information from his or her environment, then effectively processing, problem-solving and adapting to this information.

Intellectual disability is a disability characterized by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills. This disability originates before the age of 18 – (2009 American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD – it was earlier known as AAMR, USA):

An individual is considered to have an intellectual disability based on the following three criteria:

 1. Sub average: intellectual functioning: It refers to general mental capacity, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, and so on. One way to measure intellectual functioning is an IQ test. Generally, an IQ test score of around 70 or as high as 75 indicates a limitation in intellectual functioning.

 2. Significant limitations exist in two or more adaptive skill areas: It is the collection of conceptual, social, and practical skills that are learned and performed by people in their everyday lives.

Ø Conceptual skills—language and literacy; money, time, and number concepts; and selfdirection.

Ø Social skills—interpersonal skills, social responsibility, self-esteem, gullibility, naïveté (i.e., wariness), social problem solving, and the ability to follow rules/obey laws and to avoid being victimized.

Ø Practical skills—activities of daily living (personal care), occupational skills, healthcare, travel/transportation, schedules/routines, safety, use of money, use of the telephone. Standardized tests can also determine limitations in adaptive behavior.

3. The condition manifests itself before the age 18: This condition is one of several developmental disabilities-that is, there is evidence of the disability during the developmental period, which is operationalized as before the age of 18. The AAIDD definition has evolved through years of effort to more clearly reflect the ever-changing perception of intellectual disabilities. Historically, definitions of intellectual disability were based solely on the measurement of intellect, emphasizing routine care and maintenance rather than treatment and education. In recent years, the concept of adaptive behaviour has played an increasingly important role in defining and classifying people with intellectual disabilities

 Classification of Intellectual Disability

A number of ways have been developed to classify children with intellectual disability during the past few decades. The 1973 and 1983 AAIDD definitions of intellectual disability divided severity of disability into four categories (mild, moderate, severe and profound intellectual disability), a classification system that continues to have widespread acceptance and use (Table 1).

Level of Intellectual DisabilityIQ range
MildIQ 70 – IQ 50 (MA – 10 Yrs)
  Moderate  IQ 50 – I Q 30 (MA – 7 Yrs)
  Severe  IQ 30 – IQ 20 (MA – 5 Yrs)
Profound< 20
Table 1

Mild

Development during their early life is slower than in normal children and developmental milestones are delayed. However, they are able to communicate and learn basic skills. Their ability to use abstract concepts, analyze and synthesize are impaired but can achieve reading and computing skills to grade three to six level. They can perform house-work, look after themselves and do unskilled or semi- skilled work. They usually require some support.

Moderate

They are slow in meeting intellectual developmental milestones; their ability to learn and think logically is impaired but are able to communicate and look after themselves with some support. With supervision, they can perform unskilled or semiskilled work.

Severe

Every aspect of their development in the early years is distinctively delayed; they have difficulty pronouncing words and have a very limited vocabulary. Through considerable practice and time, they may gain basic self-help skills but still need support at school, home and in the community.

Profound

These individuals cannot take care of themselves and have no language. Their capacity to express emotions is limited and poorly understood (Adams & Oliver, 2011). Seizures, physical disabilities, and reduced life expectancy are common.

The current view is that intellectual disability has multiple causal factors, including genetic predisposition, environmental insults, developmental vulnerability, heredity and environment (Harris, 2006). Consequently, the AAIDD proposed a multifactorial approach to etiology, involving the following four categories (AAMR, 2002, p. 127).

  1. Biomedical: factors that relate to biological processes, such as genetic disorders or nutrition.
  2. Social: factors that relate to social and family interaction, such as stimulation and adult responsiveness.
  3. Behavioural: factors that relate to potentially causal behaviours, such as dangerous (injurious) activities or maternal substance abuse.
  4. Educational: factors that relate to the availability of educational supports that promotes mental development and the development of adaptive skills.

AAIDD uses a classification system based on the type and extent of the support that the individual requires to function in the natural settings of home and community. AAIDD recommends four levels of support:

AAIDD uses a classification system based on the type and extent of the support that the individual requires to function in the natural settings of home and community. AAIDD recommends four levels of support:

Si.NoSupport LevelDescription with Examples
1IntermittentSupports are provided on an “as needed basis.” These supports may be Episodic- that is, the person does not always need assistance; or Short-term, occurring during lifespan transitions (e.g., job loss or acute medical crisis). Intermittent supports may be of high or low intensity.
2LimitedSupports are characterized by consistency; the time required may be limited, but the need is not intermittent. Fewer staff may be required, and costs may be lower than those associated with more intensive levels of support (examples include time-limited employment training and supports during transition from school to adulthood).
3ExtensiveSupports are characterized by regular involvement (e.g, daily) in at least some environments, such as work or home; supports are not time-limited (e.g., long-term job and home-living support will be necessary).
4PervasiveSupports must be constant and of high intensity. They have to be provided across multiple environments and may be life-sustaining in nature. Pervasive supports typically involve more staff and are more intrusive than extensive or time-limited supports.

What causes Intellectual Disability?
-Genetic factors
-Hereditary factors or chromosomal abnormalities
-Pregnancy and birth factors
e.g. misuse of drugs or excessive alcohol intake during pregnancy complication of birth, prematurity Infancy and childhood
-Infections and brain injuries, e.g. meningitis, brain trauma, etc.
-Unknown factors
-The cause in most cases is unknown.

How does Mental Retardation affect the child?
-Developmental aspects affected by MR:
– Attention
-Memory
-Language ability
-Gross and fine motor coordination
-Learning and problem-solving abilities
-Social and self-care skills
-Ability to control emotion and behaviour
As the child’s abilities in the above aspects are significantly lower than children of comparable age, his/her adaptability in daily life would be affected.
-Ability to communicate
– Self-care
– Housework
– Social skills
– Working and learning
– Community life

4 Replies to “Understanding Intellectual Disability”

  1. Dear Team,
    Please note i am having a special child who is suffering with ADHD kindly advise what all the documents required and fee structure for admission into your esteem education center.

    Regards,
    Syed Nayeem
    0555748146

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