How to judge whether a child has intellectual disability

If a child has intellectual disability, it will gradually become apparent as the child grows and develops. For example, the child's motor and mental nerves will be underdeveloped, and in infancy he may have difficulty feeding. When he grows up, he will have symptoms such as giggling, often sticking out his tongue and drooling, dull eyes, and language barriers when he can speak, etc. If the above symptoms occur, you should go to the hospital for examination in time.

How to judge whether a child has intellectual disability

1. Motor and mental neurological development is delayed:

Those who are backward since childhood mostly have congenital reasons, such as being unusually quiet within 1 to 3 months after birth, crying less or moving more, having no response to the mother at 4 months; not being able to laugh at 6 months; not being able to sit at 1 year old; not being able to walk and talk at 2 years old. The starting age of movements such as raising the head while lying on the stomach, sitting, standing, and walking is later than that of normal children of the same age. It is especially obvious when walking, with muscle spasms, paralysis, or low muscle tone and excessive flexion and extension of joints. Clumsy movements and abnormal behavior.

2. Difficulty in feeding:

Appears in infancy. The earliest symptoms of mentally retarded babies are often difficulty in feeding, inability to suck, and spitting up milk, which indicates damage to the nervous system and will affect their intelligence in the future.

3. Often have silly smiles

Open mouth, stick out tongue, drool, grind teeth, and purse fingers. There are often unconscious facial expressions, screaming, and crying.

4. Dull eyes:

Unable to consciously look at objects or shift gaze with objects. Lack of concentration and persistence.

5. Language barriers:

The child's language is significantly behind that of children of the same age, but the child has no visual or hearing impairment, or the child has intellectual disability and is accompanied by visual or hearing impairment. Normal babies will imitate sounds when they are 7-8 months old, will call mom and dad at around one year old, will be able to say a dozen words and understand simple instructions at around one and a half years old, will be able to ask simple questions at around 2 years old, and will be able to basically express their thoughts at around 3 years old. If these symptoms occur only after a child lags behind by four to five months or even one to two years, they may be a sign of intellectual disability.

6. Learning difficulties:

(Seen in older children with mild mental retardation)

7. Abnormal facial and body shape:

Some babies with congenital mental retardation have abnormal facial and body appearance. For example, children with congenital idiocy have eyes that are too wide apart, slanted eyes, collapsed nose bridge, tongue often sticking out of the mouth, drooling, etc., which is what people often call "international face". Children with hydrocephalus have particularly large head circumference, while children with microcephaly have particularly small heads. People with hypothyroidism are particularly short.

8. Slowing down:

Their attention is severely distracted, their memory is poor, their verbal ability is poor, their thinking ability is low, their emotions are unstable, their self-control is poor, their will is weak, they lack self-confidence, their communication skills are poor, and they have difficulty learning how to interact with others.