Understanding Intellectual Disability

Intellectual Disability

• Down Syndrome is caused by an extra presence of chromosome 21.
• Characterized by mental retardation and distinguishing physical features.
• Down Syndrome abnormalities can include pelvic dysplasia, broad hands and feet, stubby fingers, transverse palmar crease, lenticular opacities, and a flat nose.
• The causes of Down Syndrome can include teenage pregnancy, old age of parents, and being carriers of genetic translocations for Down Syndrome
• Other types of Down Syndrome are trisomy 21, mosaicism, and translocation.
• Interventions include task analysis, sign language alongside spoken language, augmentative strategies, IEPs, occupational & physical therapy, socialization programs, and parental & peer support.
• Alcohol Fetal Syndrome occurs in fetuses or newborns due to in utero ethanol exposure.
• A lifelong condition and the leading cause of ID.
• Symptoms of Alcohol Fetal Syndrome include low birth weight, failure to thrive, developmental defects, organ dysfunction, and poor motor coordination.
• Alcohol Fetal Syndrome is the result of a pregnant woman consuming alcoholic drinks, restricting blood vessels and causing a shortage of oxygen and nutrients in the fetus.
• Treatment and support include Applied Behavioral Analysis, Speech, Physical & Occupational Therapy, Special Education, Vocational Rehabilitation, and Life Skills Training

Learning Disorder

• Dyslexia involves impairment in Reading.
• Difficulties with reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension despite normal intelligence and adequate education.
• Persistent difficulties in reading for at least 6 months despite intervention, including word reading accuracy, reading rate or fluency, and reading comprehension.
• A 40–60% chance of inheritableness along with different brain structures and functions on the left hemisphere related to phonological processing.
• Lack of early exposure to language and literary-rich engagements.
• Interventions for dyslexia include specialized instruction in phonological training, Orton-Gillingham Approach, Technology and Materials, Therapeutic Support, and Parental & Teacher Support.
• Dysgraphia involves difficulties in written expression.
• Affects handwriting but also impairs coherence.
• Persistent difficulties in written expression, indicated by at least one of the following: poor spelling accuracy, poor grammar & punctuation, difficulty organizing written work, and excessive effort & slowness in writing tasks
• Caused by developmental and genetic factors along with abnormalities in the parietal and frontal lobe.
• A lack of early writing practice contributes to handwriting difficulties.
• Occupational Therapy and Educational Therapy can help mitigate the impacts of Dysgraphia.

Pervasive Disorders

• Autism Disorder is a developmental disability affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction.
• Evident before age three, adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
• Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities.
• Symptoms must be present in the early developmental period and cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, and other functioning.
• There are no known medical or physiological markers, but there may be abnormal brain development structures/neurochemistry.
• Educational approaches, Critical Importance of Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention, and Applied Behavioral Analysis are effective intervention techniques.
• Rett Syndrome is a condition found in girls affecting microcephaly, hand movement problems, and leading to no language skills and extreme social anxiety.
• Normal early development followed by complete loss of speech and locomotion.
• Rett Syndrome is caused by a mutation in the MECP2 Gene.
• Effective interventions include standard medical care and attention, physical, speech, occupational, and behavioral therapy, as well as good nutrition, and supportive services.

Disintegrative Disorder

• Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) which is an outdated term for ADHD develops inappropriate inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity.
• Inattention includes often fail to finish things they start; often doesn’t seem to listen; has difficulty sticking to a play activity.
• Impulsivity includes often acts before thinking; needs a lot of supervision; frequently calls out in class.
• Hyperactivity includes has difficulty staying seated and moves about excessively during sleep.
• 74% heritability, Genetic Factors include highly hereditary polygenic disorder and manifests within families.
• Environmental Factors are are broken down into Prenatal (smoking/drinking, Drug use, Exposure to toxins: lead or pesticides), Perinatal (Premature/low birth weightLack of oxygen during birth), and Postnatal (Illnesses present: Meningitis or encephalitis).
• Behavioral Therapy and Good nutrition are effective interventions.
• Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) impairs to properly focus, to control impulsive behaviors, and makes the person overactive.
• Characterized by a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development as characterized by 6 symptoms of a combination of of others and persists for at least 6 months.
• Interventions include medication, organizational skills training, behavior classroom management, cognitive behavioral therapy, behavioral parent training, and classroom interventions.
• Other therapies include play therapy, brain training or neurofeedback, music therapy, physical activity, and IEPs.
• Diagnostic Criteria include: Diagnostic Criteria B-E Inattentive or hyperactive-impulsive symptoms were present before age 12.
• Hyperactive-impulsive symptoms are present in two or more settings
• Symptoms interfere with/reduce the quality of academic or social functioning.
• Temperamental Factors include: Reduced Behavioral Inhibition, Effortful Control, Negative Emotionality, and Elevated Novelty Seeking