ECED 2060

IDEA: mental retardation Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

 Reasoning  Planning  Problem solving  Thinking abstractly  Comprehension  Learning  Memory  Generalization  Motivation  Academic achievement

 -- a collection of conceptual, social, and practical skills that have been learned by people in order to function in their everyday lives, such as reading, writing, language, money concepts, self-direction, interpersonal skills, responsibility, self- esteem, gullibility, rules, laws, victimization, eating, mobility, toileting, dressing, preparing meals, house- keeping, transportation, medications, telephone use, etc.

 1. Significant subaverage intellectual functioning, as measured by standardized testing. Classified by degree of severity: mild (50 – 55 to approximately 70; moderate (35 – 40 to 50 – 55; severe 20 – 25 to 35 to 40; profound below 20 – 25.  2. Concurrent deficits in adaptive behavior (personal independence; social responsibility)  3. Age of onset during the developmental period (before 18 th birthday)

 Individuals with mental retardation represent 1% to 3% of the general population.  Mental retardation is 1.5 times more common in boys than in girls.

 There are more than 250 biologic causes of mental retardation, which fall neatly into these categories:  Genetic; chromosomal; metabolic  Perinatal or prenatal incident  Acquired childhood disorders; infections; illnesses; malnutrition  Environmental toxins

 However, only ~25% of cases fall into those biologic categories. The other ~75% have unknown causes (~30%) or are traceable to a non-biologic cause (psychosocial and sociocultural factors).

 30% -- cause UNKNOWN  Chromosomal abnormalities  Down Syndrome -- 5 to 6%  William Syndrome  Fragile X Syndrome  Angelman syndrome  Prader-Willi syndrome  Rett Syndrome

 Metabolism and nutritional factors  Phenylketonuria  Galactosemia  Tay Sachs disease  Hunter syndrome  Hurler syndrome  Sanfillipo syndrome  Metachromatic leukodystrophy  Adrenoleukodystrophy  Lesch-Nyhan's syndrome  Reye's syndrome  Congenital hypothyroidism  high bilirubin levels in infants  hypoglycemia

 Infection and intoxication  Fetal Alcohol Syndrome  Maternal infections  congenital rubella  HIV  Toxoplasmosis  drug usage  Prematurity  Low Birth Weight  Rh incompatibility  Encephalitis  Radiation  Meningitis  Congenital cytomegalovirus  Listeriosis  Methylmercury poisoning  Lead poisoning

 Postnatal brain disease  Neurofibromatosis  Tuberous Sclerosis  Traumas and physical accidents  Asphyxiation  Anoxia  Seizures  Intracranial hemorrhage  head injury  poisoning  Unknown prenatal influences  Anencephaly  hydrocephalus  Environmental  Malnutrition  Neglect  abuse

A few possible characteristics: ~Failure to meet age-appropriate expectations (norms) ~Delayed development or lack of visual or auditory response ~Delayed development or lack of language development ~Motor delays

 Delayed gross and fine motor coordination  However, often ambulatory and capable of independent mobility, unless severe or profound mental retardation  Delayed perceptual motor skills exist (e.g., body awareness, sense of touch, eye-hand coordination)  Awkward or uncontrolled movement

 Delays or deviations in speech and language skills (mild to moderate)  (Severe) significant speech and language delays and deviations (such as lack of expressive and receptive language, articulation errors, and little, if any, spontaneous interaction)  (Profound) no spontaneous communication patterns, or echolalic speech, speech out of context, and purposeless speech

 “Special Olympics”  “Kids With Down Syndrome Intro Sequence”  “I Have a Voice”

 (See packet)

 (see packet)

 Get into groups of THREE people.  Get a packet of straws and some tape.  One of you cannot use your preferred hand.  Another cannot use your thumbs.  The other cannot talk.  Make a tower of straws as high as you can.  It cannot be attached to anything – it must be free-standing.  The group with the tallest tower WINS!!  This is just for frustration and to get a feeling of that frustration …