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
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-- 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, selfesteem, gullibility, rules,
laws, victimization, eating,
mobility, toileting, dressing,
preparing meals, housekeeping, transportation,
medications, telephone use,
etc.
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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 18th birthday)
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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.
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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
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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).
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30% -- cause UNKNOWN
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Chromosomal abnormalities
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Down Syndrome -- 5 to 6%
William Syndrome
Fragile X Syndrome
Angelman syndrome
Prader-Willi syndrome
Rett Syndrome
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Metabolism and nutritional factors
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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
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Infection and intoxication
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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
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Postnatal brain disease
 Neurofibromatosis
 Tuberous Sclerosis
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Traumas and physical accidents
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Asphyxiation
Anoxia
Seizures
Intracranial hemorrhage
head injury
poisoning
Unknown prenatal influences
 Anencephaly
 hydrocephalus
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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
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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
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“Special Olympics”
“Kids With Down
Syndrome Intro
Sequence”
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“I Have a Voice”
 (See packet)
 (see packet)
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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 …