Learn everything about intellectual disabilities. This way, you become better advocates for your children. Encourage independence and boost their self-esteem. Allow your child to try new things and experience a sense of discovery and adventure. Parents sometimes tend to be overprotective in cases like this and are afraid to allow their children to take risks. It is important to provide guidance as needed and to offer positive feedback in a child's good deeds.
Don't criticize as this can prevent them from developing their sense of self-confidence and will hinder their chances of taking action in the future. Don't limit your child's socialization circle. Introduce them to group activities like participating in art classes or community activities for children to build and enhance their social skills. Join support groups or interact with other parents of intellectually disabled children as they can be a good source of advice and emotional support.
It's also good for them to feel like they can interact with all people and that they aren't being forced into a specific social group. Parents are so important when it comes to helping children learn to live with intellectual disabilities. When your child starts to struggle with things, you need to be there to help lift them up. It can be mentally taxing and emotionally difficult to see your child have problems with certain things.
Even so, it will be very rewarding when you work together as a team and you see them find success in life. Intellectual and developmental disabilities result from varying degrees of impairment in one or more areas of functioning. Essentially, it describes any health condition that involves changes in thinking, emotion, or behavior, which are often associated with distress or dysfunction in social, work, or family contexts.
It is completely okay to feel as though you might need help. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 17 provides for developmental assessment of children older than three years in every school district. For children younger than three, similar infant-toddler assessment and early intervention resources are available, usually through local health departments, school districts or regional assessment centers.
The responsible agency varies in each state. Families will usually welcome such a referral and comprehensive evaluation, especially if the mental retardation is unexplained. Evaluations by a nutritionist and a child psychiatrist may also be appropriate for some patients.
The family physician should expect complete information on the findings from this type of team evaluation. The family should expect to be referred back to their local community for ongoing primary care and, in some instances, subspecialty care. Information about early intervention resources in the local community should be shared with the family, and appropriate support services should be identified. If the child with mental retardation has a head circumference that falls below the 5th percentile microcephaly or above the 95th percentile macrocephaly , a magnetic resonance imaging scan of the brain should be considered.
This is usually preferable to computed tomographic scanning because of the enhanced visualization of developmental abnormalities of the cerebral cortex, such as pachygyria, polymicrogyria and schizencephaly. These disorders reflect an abnormality during the first 25 weeks of gestation in the early migration of the neurons into the normally six-layered cortex.
This would include a review of a three-generation pedigree and records of pertinent relatives, evaluation for subtle dysmorphic features and assessment for a pattern to the patient's presenting characteristics. Most mentally retarded patients who visit a genetics office undergo chromosome analysis.
While this testing could be done by the referring physician, there are different levels of test quality, and it is usually best performed by a good cytogenetics laboratory associated with a university hospital or children's hospital. This allows for ease in interpretation of the results to the patient's family in the event an abnormality is found.
DNA testing for fragile X syndrome should be done instead of cytogenetic testing, which can miss up to 7 percent of those who are affected. Diagnosis may require several periodic visits to a geneticist, because a phenotype may evolve slowly, and new syndromes are constantly being reported. The importance of making a diagnosis in a child with mental retardation cannot be overemphasized. An accurate diagnosis allows for anticipatory guidance for the patient, recurrence risk information and genetic counseling for the parents, and opportunities for the family to become involved in specific support groups.
An uncertain diagnosis should be conveyed as such; no diagnosis is preferable to an incorrect one. Within a given family, the risk of recurrence of mental retardation in future siblings or other relatives of the patient depends on the specific diagnosis. The recurrence risk for mental retardation cannot be given to the family until a diagnosis has been made, although a general discussion with a geneticist may be of benefit.
The family physician is a valuable resource in periodically reviewing the recurrence risk for the family. Practice guidelines for primary care of children with certain conditions Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome are also available, 19 — 21 as are special somatic growth charts for some syndromes.
There are also guidelines for the management of adults with mental retardation who have been deinstitutionalized. All physicians who care for children with mental retardation or developmental disabilities should remember that these patients quickly outgrow their childhoods.
As they become adolescents and young adults, most of them will need professional intervention to help them become their own advocates in the health care system. Families should be supported as they encourage independent functioning on the part of their adolescent or young-adult son or daughter. Already a member or subscriber? Log in. Interested in AAFP membership? Learn more. Address correspondence to Grace E. Holmes, M. Reprints are not available from the authors. Coplan J.
Three pitfalls in the early diagnosis of mental retardation. Clin Pediatr. Pelegano JP, Healy A. Fam Pract Recertification. American Association on Mental Retardation. Definition, classification and systems of supports. Washington, D. Evaluation of mental retardation: recommendations of a consensus conference: American College of Medical Genetics.
Am J Med Genet. Evaluation of the child with idiopathic mental retardation. Pediatr Clin North Am. Outcome of extremely low birth weight infants to grams over a year period. Dimauro S, Moraes CT. Mitochondrial encephalomyopathies. Arch Neurol. Smith's recognizable patterns of human malformation. Philadelphia: Saunders, Baraitser M, Winter RM. New York: Oxford University Press, The newly abbreviated and revised Denver developmental screening test.
J Pediatr. The Denver developmental screening test. Denver developmental screening test II. Denver: Denver Developmental Materials, The KIDS chart. A simple, reliable infant development screening tool. Am J Dis Child. Significance of minor abnormalities in children. Am Fam Physician. Congenital anomalies in the newborn infant, including minor variations. Pediatr Rev. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
A multicenter study on genotype-phenotype correlations in the fragile X syndrome, using direct diagnosis with probe StB Am J Hum Genet. The FMR1 gene mutates in the development of the child and that is how the child could get it. Normally, at least one parent has to be a carrier of the gene, because new mutations are rare. Individuals with fragile X usually have moderate mental retardation, strength in Gestalt reasoning, and weakness in sequential processing.
They are also usually autistic and exhibit ADHD-like behaviors. Early identification and intervention can improve outcomes for males with autism spectrum disorder. Healthcare workers and early interventionists may be able to interview parents about a few key behaviors to determine if young child with FXS should be formally evaluated for autism. It is present at birth, and affects males and females equally.
It can occur in all ethnic groups and has been identified in countries throughout the world. Individuals who are diagnosed with this disease have a small upturned nose, long philtrum uppper lip length , wide mouth, full lips, small chin, and puffiness around the eyes. They have heart and blood vessel problems because they are born with small blood vessels, as well as feeding problems.
The usually have good verbal and language skills. Individuals with this disease have high death rates. It causes poor muscle tone, low levels of sex hormones and a constant feeling of hunger. The part of the brain that controls feelings of fullness or hunger does not work properly in people with PWS. They overeat, leading to obesity.
Babies with PWS are usually floppy, with poor muscle tone, and have trouble sucking. Boys may have undescended testicles. Later, other signs appear. These include:. The problems that arise from this often intensify when children grow up. There are many developmental delays that occur with FAS as well as physical attributes that are distinguishable.
Mental Retardation can be associated with mental disorders having the commonality of head trauma that can result in Mental Retardation and in personality change due to head trauma. The etiological factors are both biological and psychosocial. Some of these predisposing factors are heredity, alterations of embryonic development, environmental influences, mental disorders, pregnancy and prenatal problems, and general medical conditions acquired in infancy or childhood.
Applied behavior analysis is a type of discipline that is applied in a genuine setting such as schools and clinics. This type of analysis deals with socially important issues such as learning disabilities and behavioral difficulties. The federal government mandates this and it as no extra cost to the family. A loving and supportive family is key to the treatment of mental retardation. Families can benefit from family therapy by learning to cope with the stress and other day-to-day activities involved with raising a child with mental retardation.
Some children can go far in school while others cannot, it just depends on the severity of their retardation. Preventing mental retardation can be done in a few ways. Avoiding alcohol and drugs, eating a healthy diet, and taking prenatal vitamins during pregnancy all are proactive steps to be taken to help prevent mental retardation. Also, getting children vaccinated against diseases such as measles can be helpful as well. Skip to main content. Pervasive Developmental Disorders.
To be diagnosed with ID, your child must have below-average intellectual and adaptive skills. Your child will be given standard intelligence tests, such as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test. The doctor may also administer other tests such as the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Laboratory and imaging tests may also be performed. Other conditions, such as hearing loss, learning disorders, neurological disorders, and emotional problems can also cause delayed development.
The plan will also detail the services that your child will need to help them with normal development. Your family needs will also be addressed in the plan. When your child is ready to attend school, an Individualized Education Program IEP will be put in place to help them with their educational needs. All children with ID benefit from special education. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Act IDEA requires that public schools provide free and appropriate education to children with ID and other developmental disabilities.
When ID occurs with other serious physical problems, your child may have a below-average life expectancy. However, if your child has mild to moderate ID, they will probably have a fairly normal life expectancy.
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