Chapter 6
Children with
Intellectual and
Developmental
Disabilities (IDD)
Historical Overview
• One of the first documented attempts to help
children with intellectual and development
disabilities (IDD) involved Jean Itard, a French
physician, who tried to educate a young boy who
had lived by himself in the woods—the so-called
Wild Boy of Aveyron.
• Maria Montessori (1912) also worked in this field
and developed what is now called sense
training. Her work is used today with young
children without disabilities in the Montessori
schools.
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• The key organization is this area has changed
its name from American Association on Mental
Retardation to American Association on
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
(AAIDD) to reflect the change from “mental
retardation” to “intellectual and developmental
disabilities.” The main reason for the change
was to try and eliminate some of the negative
connotations attached to the term mental
retardation.
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Definition of Intellectual and
Developmentally Disabilities
• IDD is a disability characterized by significant
limitations both in intellectual functioning and in
adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual,
social, and practical adaptive skills. The
disability originates before age 18.
• Average IQ: 100 (average)with a range 91 to
109
• MR/IDD starts at below 70
• IDD is only 2% of the population
Source: From American Association on Mental Retardation (2002). Reprinted
with permission.
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FIVE ASSUMPTIONS ESSENTIAL TO
THE APPLICATION OF THE DEFINITION:
• Limitations in present functioning must be considered
within the context of community environments typical of
the individual’s age peers and culture.
• Valid assessment considers cultural and linguistic
diversity as well as differences in communication,
sensory, motor, and behavioral factors.
• Within an individual, limitations often coexist with
strengths.
• An important purpose of describing limitations is to
develop a profile of needed supports.
• With appropriate personalized supports over a sustained
period, the life functioning of the person with mental
retardation generally will improve.
•
Source: From American Association on Mental Retardation (2002). Reprinted with permission.
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Assessment of IDD
• Intelligence tests measure the specific skills
in which children with IDD differ, namely, in
using memory skills, in associating and
classifying information, in reasoning, and in
making sound judgments.
• Adaptive skills test. To be considered to
have IDD, a person must be significantly
deficient in adaptive behavior as expressed
in conceptual skills, social skills, and
practical skills. Please see Table 5.2 for more
details on the categories of adaptive
behaviors.
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Intensity of Support
• Intermittent refers to support as needed, but not
necessarily present at all times.
• Limited refers to support provided on a regular
basis for a short period of time.
• Extensive support indicates ongoing and
regular involvement.
• The pervasive level of support describes
constant high-intensity help provided across
environments and involving more staff members
than the other categories.
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Etiological factors
• Genetic factors : Down syndrome ,normal growth and
development in the embryo and fetus depend on the
production of enzymes at the right time and place, PKU,
fragile X syndrome—so named because of a constriction
near the end of the X chromosome.
• Infections: Rubella (German measles), if contracted by
a woman during her first trimester of pregnancy, can
result in a child with IDD. There also seems to be some
evidence that children with HIV infection may develop
IDD. Children and adults are also at risk of brain damage
from viruses that produce high fevers, which in turn
destroy brain cells. Encephalitis is one virus of this type.
• Environmental factors: teratogens: substances that
adversely affect fetal development: Fetal alcohol
syndrome (FAS) of moderate or severe organic IDD.
Lead poisoning.
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Characteristics of Students with IDD
•
•
•
•
•
Ability to process information
Ability to acquire and use language
Ability to acquire emotional and social skills
Many children with IDD have problems in central processing, the
classification of a stimulus through the use of memory, reasoning,
and evaluation. Classification, or the organization of information,
tends to be a major problem for children with IDD, as are memory
problems, because children with IDD are less likely to rehearse
information.
The issue of learned helplessness becomes a challenge for
teachers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities
in inclusive settings because they are likely to see that their
performance does not match that of the typical student and to avoid
tasks that are difficult.
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•
•
Children with IDD have a general deficit in language development
and specific problems using interpretative language. The
development of language in children who are IDD develops in the
same fashion as it does in nondisabled individuals, only slower..
We now know that emotional and social difficulties can create
problems with vocational and community adjustment. Some skills
can be attributed to positive social acceptance, such as taking turns,
attending, following directions, and so forth. Social competence
involves not only the presence of such skills but also the
appropriate use of them in social situations
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Educational Adaptations
• Children with IDD often do not learn from observation or
imitation and lack the strategies for attacking new or
problem situations. Two of the special teaching
strategies that are effective with children with IDD are
scaffolding and reciprocal teaching.
• Cooperative learning activities, problem-solving
strategies, self-management strategies, and social
skills training can help students with IDD become
socially competent and confident.
• Positive behavior supports Positive behavior
supports (PBS) or Functional behavioral Analysis: An
approach to intervention based on behavior science
principles and meant to replace punitive measures
for behavior control. It includes functional
assessments, positive interventions, and evaluative
measures to assess progress.
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• Modeling Introducing a skill through live
audio or video demonstrations.
• The rapidly developing technology can greatly
assist students with IDD. Computers can be
useful for drill and practice, tutorials, simulations,
and problem solving.
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Transition
• The law requires that the IEP team begin no
later than age 14 to address the student's need
for instruction that will assist him or her in
preparing for transition.
• Beginning at age 16 (or younger, if determined
appropriate by the IEP team), the IEP must
contain a statement of needed transition
services for the student, including, if appropriate,
a statement of interagency responsibilities. This
includes a coordinated set of activities with
measurable outcomes that will move the student
from school to post-school activities (work)
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• Regional Center: IPP’s ,Independent Living and
Assisted living services
• Department of Rehabilitation
• Group Homes
• In Home Supportive Services
• Respite care
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