Find information on thousands of medical conditions and prescription drugs.

Mental retardation

Mental retardation (also called mental handicap and, as defined by the UK Mental Health Act 1983, mental impairment and severe mental impairment) is a term for a pattern of persistently slow learning of basic motor and language skills ("milestones") during childhood, and a significantly below-normal global intellectual capacity as an adult. One common criterion for diagnosis of what used to be called mental retardation is a tested intelligence quotient (IQ) below 70. more...

Home
Diseases
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
Mac Ardle disease
Macroglobulinemia
Macular degeneration
Mad cow disease
Maghazaji syndrome
Mal de debarquement
Malaria
Malignant hyperthermia
Mallory-Weiss syndrome
Malouf syndrome
Mannosidosis
Marburg fever
Marfan syndrome
MASA syndrome
Mast cell disease
Mastigophobia
Mastocytosis
Mastoiditis
MAT deficiency
Maturity onset diabetes...
McArdle disease
McCune-Albright syndrome
Measles
Mediterranean fever
Megaloblastic anemia
MELAS
Meleda Disease
Melioidosis
Melkersson-Rosenthal...
Melophobia
Meniere's disease
Meningioma
Meningitis
Mental retardation
Mercury (element)
Mesothelioma
Metabolic acidosis
Metabolic disorder
Metachondromatosis
Methylmalonic acidemia
Microcephaly
Microphobia
Microphthalmia
Microscopic polyangiitis
Microsporidiosis
Microtia, meatal atresia...
Migraine
Miller-Dieker syndrome
Mitochondrial Diseases
Mitochondrial...
Mitral valve prolapse
Mobius syndrome
MODY syndrome
Moebius syndrome
Molluscum contagiosum
MOMO syndrome
Mondini Dysplasia
Mondor's disease
Monoclonal gammopathy of...
Morquio syndrome
Motor neuron disease
Motorphobia
Moyamoya disease
MPO deficiency
MR
Mucopolysaccharidosis
Mucopolysaccharidosis...
Mullerian agenesis
Multiple chemical...
Multiple endocrine...
Multiple hereditary...
Multiple myeloma
Multiple organ failure
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple system atrophy
Mumps
Muscular dystrophy
Myalgic encephalomyelitis
Myasthenia gravis
Mycetoma
Mycophobia
Mycosis fungoides
Myelitis
Myelodysplasia
Myelodysplastic syndromes
Myelofibrosis
Myeloperoxidase deficiency
Myoadenylate deaminase...
Myocarditis
Myoclonus
Myoglobinuria
Myopathy
Myopia
Myositis
Myositis ossificans
Myxedema
Myxozoa
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Medicines

Alternate terms

The term mental retardation has gradually acquired pejorative and shameful connotations over the last few decades and is now used almost exclusively in technical or scientific contexts where exactness is necessary.

  • In North America, the broad term developmental delay has become an increasingly preferred synonym by many parents and caregivers. Elsewhere however, developmental delay is generally used to imply that appropriate intervention will improve or completely eliminate the condition, allowing for "catching up." Importantly, this term carries the emotionally powerful idea that the individual's current difficulties are likely to be temporary.
  • Developmental disability is preferred by most physicians, but can also refer to any other physical or psychiatric delay, such as delayed puberty.
  • Intellectual disability is increasingly used as a synonym for people with significantly below-average IQ, primarily as a means of separating general intellectual limitations from specific, limited deficits as well as indicating that it is not an emotional or psychological disability. Intellectual disability is also used to describe the outcome of traumatic brain injury or lead poisoning or dementing conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. It is not specific to congenital conditions like Down Syndrome.

The American Association on Mental Retardation continues to use the term mental retardation .

Signs

There are many signs. For example, children with developmental disabilities may learn to sit up, to crawl, or to walk later than other children, or they may learn to talk later. Both adults and children with intellectual disabilities may also:

  • have trouble speaking,
  • find it hard to remember things,
  • not understand how to pay for things,
  • have trouble understanding social rules,
  • have trouble seeing the consequences of their actions,
  • have trouble solving problems, and/or
  • have trouble thinking logically.

In early childhood, mild disability (IQ 60-70) may not be obvious, and may not be diagnosed until they begin school. Even when poor academic performance is recognized, it may take expert assessment to distinguish mild mental disability from learning disability or behavior problems. As they become adults, many people can live independently and may be considered by others in their community as "slow" rather than "retarded".

Moderate disability (IQ 50-60) is nearly always obvious within the first years of life. These people will encounter difficulty in school, at home, and in the community. In many cases they will need to join special, usually separate, classes in school, but they can still progress to become functioning members of society. As adults, they may live with their parents, in a supportive group home, or even semi-independently with significant supportive services to help them, for example, manage their finances.

Read more at Wikipedia.org


[List your site here Free!]


Mental Retardation : An Introduction to Intellectual Disability (7th Edition) $78.70 Mental Retardation: A LifeSpan Approach to People with Intellectual Disabilities, Eighth Edition $72.00
The Mental Retardation and Developmental Disability Treatment Planner $40.12 Mental Retardation : A Community Integration Approach $80.04
Teaching Students with Mental Retardation: A Life Goal Curriculum Planning Approach $45.00 Genetics and Mental Retardation Syndromes: A New Look at Behavior and Interventions $18.23
Mental Retardation in America: A Historical Reader (The History of Disability) $22.95 Mental Retardation: Definition, Classification, and Systems of Supports $39.50
Mental Retardation : Historical Perspectives, Current Practices, and Future Directions $56.02 Mental Retardation: A Life Cycle Approach (7th Edition) $4.42

Aging with mental retardation: increasing population of older adults with MR require health interventions and prevention strategies
The second half of the 20th century vastly increased the life span of those with mental retardation (MR). Today the average life expectancy of older adults with MR is 66.1 years and growing. As thes
Service problems and solutions for individuals with mental retardation and metal illness - 2001 NRA Graduate Literary Award Winner
Individuals with mental retardation and mental illness often have difficulty receiving necessary services in the community. Individuals with dual diagnosis ...
Competitive employment and mental retardation: interplay among gender, race, secondary psychiatric disability, and rehabilitation services - Competitive
Rehabilitation outcomes of persons with mild/moderate mental retardation were analyzed. Seven variables were used to predict one dichotomous and one continuous criterion variable: work status at clo
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a developmental disability that first appears in children under the age of 18. It is defined as an intellectual functioning level ...
Involvement with and Role Perception Toward an Adult Sibling With and Without Mental Retardation - Statistical Data Included
The study compared 76 non-disabled mid-age siblings of persons with mental retardation with a matched group of 69 siblings of persons without mental retardation on (1) frequency of contact, (2) role
Conceptions of work among adolescents and young adults with mental retardation
Semistructured interviews were conducted with 16 Israeli adolescents and young adults with mild mental retardation to examine their perceptions of the ...
Executive Order 13309—amendments to Executive Order 12994, and renaming the President's Committee on Mental Retardation as the President's Committee
July 25, 2003 By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to change the name of the "President's Committee on Mental
Delayed diagnosis of Fragile X syndrome - inherited mental retardation - Statistical Data Included
Delayed Diagnosis of Fragile X Syndrome -- United States, 1990-1999. Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the leading cause of inherited mental retardation, ...

Home Contact Resources Exchange Links ebay