What to do if your child has intellectual disability

There are many reasons that lead to intellectual disability in young children. The so-called intellectual disability in young children means that the child's intelligence level is obviously different from that of children of the same age. The intelligence of young children is affected by many factors, and the main reason affecting children's intelligence is genetic factors. Some children are affected by diseases at birth. People don’t know much about this aspect, so we will introduce you to the relevant knowledge below.

View details Mental retardation occurs during the developmental period, and the general intellectual function is significantly lower than the level of peers, accompanied by a group of diseases with adaptive behavioral defects. An IQ that is 2.0 standard deviations lower than the population mean (the population mean IQ is set at 100, and one standard deviation is 15). Generally, an IQ below 70 (or 75) means that intelligence is significantly below average. Adaptive behavior includes both personal living ability and fulfilling social responsibilities. The developmental period generally refers to the period under 18 years old. Mental retardation has various names. In psychiatry it is called mental retardation, mental underdevelopment, and mental defect. Education and psychology call it mental retardation and intellectual disability. In pediatrics, it is called mental retardation, intellectual disability, and intellectual developmental disorder. Special education schools are called mentally retarded and intellectually disabled.

Generally, mental retardation is divided into four levels: mild, moderate, severe and extremely severe based on IQ and adaptive behavior defects.

1. Mild mental retardation (also known as stupidity in psychiatry)

IQ is 50-70, and adaptive behavior is slightly defective. Their early development is slightly slower than normal children, and they are not as lively as normal children and lack interest in the things around them. Doing things either by the book or in a rough manner. Speech development is slightly delayed and the child has little mastery of abstract vocabulary. Poor analytical ability and superficial understanding of problems. His academic performance is worse than that of ordinary children. He can recite the text but cannot apply it correctly and has difficulty completing arithmetic word problems. Practical skills and useful reading and billboard abilities are acquired through special education. When they grow up, they can do general housework and simple physical work. They lack independent thinking, are highly dependent, are not good at coping with external changes, and are easily influenced and controlled by others. Able to adapt to society under guidance.

2. Moderate mental retardation (also known as stupidity)

IQ is 35-49, and adaptive behavior is moderately impaired. The overall development is slower than normal children. The language function is underdeveloped, the words are unclear, the vocabulary is poor, and only simple concrete thinking can be carried out, and abstract concepts are not easy to establish. They have poor ability to discern the surrounding environment and can only recognize the surface and fragmentary phenomena of things. No progress can be made in reading and numeracy. After long-term education and training, simple interpersonal skills, basic hygiene habits, safety habits and simple manual skills can be learned.

3. Severe mental retardation (also known as dementia)

IQ is 20-34, and adaptive behavior is severely impaired. Developmental delay in all aspects in early years. The pronunciation is unclear, the speech is very little, and the ability to express oneself is very poor. Lack of abstract concepts and poor comprehension ability. Emotionally immature. The movements were very clumsy. Has a certain degree of defensive ability and can avoid obvious dangers. Through systematic habit training, simple living and hygiene habits can be developed, but life requires care from others. When they grow up, they can do some regular and simplest physical labor under supervision.

4. Extreme mental retardation (also known as idiocy)

IQ is below 20 and adaptive behavior is extremely defective. Not understanding everything around me. They lack language skills and can only shout "Dad" or "Mom" at most, but they cannot really recognize their parents and often howl unconsciously. Lacking the instinct of self-preservation and not being able to avoid obvious dangers. The emotional response is raw. Sensation and perception are markedly reduced. There are significant motor impairments, with inflexible hands and feet or lifelong inability to walk. Multiple disabilities and recurrent epileptic seizures are common. They cannot handle their personal life and most of them die young. Survivors may respond to training in hand and foot techniques.

That’s all I have to say about this. I hope it will be helpful to you. If you find that your child has this disease, you must go to the hospital for a check-up this morning. At the same time, if there are pregnant women taking care of the baby, they must be careful not to let the baby go to places where there are often bacteria, so as to avoid making the baby sick.