Mental Retardation || Summary

Mental retardation, also know as intellectual disability is a mental condition that is usually diagnosed before the age of 18. There are 4 levels of mental retardation-- mild, moderate, severe, and profound. The age that this disability most affects are the ages between 6-60. Intellectual function can be measured with an IQ test to detect below- average intelligence. If a person has this disorder that means that he or she learns and develops more slowly than others. People that are diagnosed with this intellectual disability will have trouble learning in school and functioning in everyday life. He or she is usually slower than others in other skills, like how to get dressed and how to act in big crowds.

Mental retardation could last for years, or it could be lifelong. There is no cure for this disability, but treatment could help. Special education and behavioral therapy can help the diagnosed person live their life to the fullest. Intellectual disabilities occur when the brain gets injured or when there is a problem that prevents the brain for developing normally. These problems can occur while the baby is growing inside the womb, during the child's birth, or after the baby is born. Intellectual disability does not only occur as a baby, but it could occur at any point during life. One cause for this is concussion during a sports event.

http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/intellectual/#def
http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/birth_defect/mental_retardation.html#
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/intellectual-disability-mental-retardation
http://aaidd.org/intellectual-disability/definition