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'''Intellectual disability''' (also called intellectual developmental disability, general [[learning disability]], or mental retardation<ref>Tidy, Colin (25 January 2013). "General Learning Disability". Patient.info.</ref>) is an illness of the brain. Intellectual disability often starts when someone is very young.

== What is an intellectual disability? ==
[[File:Guy with down syndrome.jpg|thumb|281x281px|A [[Weightlifting|weightlifter]] with Down Syndrome]]
To have an intellectual disability, a person must:<ref>American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0-89042-555-8}}. Lay summary (15 July 2013).</ref>
* Have an [[intelligence quotient]] (IQ) score of less than 70; and
* Have trouble with parts of daily life.

=== Types of intellectual disabilities ===
There are two major types of intellectual disability.

The first is ''syndromic intellectual disability''. This means that the person has a [[syndrome]] that causes intellectual disability, as well as medical issues and other problems. [[Down syndrome]] and [[fetal alcohol syndrome]] are two examples of syndromic intellectual disabilities.

The second is ''non-syndromic intellectual disability''. This means that the intellectual disability is not a part of a syndrome.

=== Levels of intellectual disability ===
There are three levels of intellectual disability, based on how severe a person's disability is:<ref name=":0">Daily DK, Ardinger HH, Holmes GE (February 2000). "Identification and evaluation of mental retardation". Am Fam Physician 61 (4): 1059–67, 1070. <nowiki>PMID 10706158</nowiki>.</ref>
* The first and most common is ''mild intellectual disability''. A person with mild intellectual disability can usually act without help from other people, but may need help with things like paying taxes.
* The second level is moderate intellectual disability. Someone with moderate intellectual disability has an IQ between 40 and 55. They cannot live by themselves, but can learn to perform basic tasks.
* The third level is severe intellectual disability. Someone with severe intellectual disability needs a lot of help and can only do simple things.
Mild intellectual disability may not be noticed until a child starts school. Moderate and severe intellectual disability can be seen before a child starts school.

== What does intellectual disability look like? ==
[[File:Photo of baby with FAS.jpg|thumb|A baby with fetal alcohol syndrome]]
People with syndromic intellectual disabilities may have a "typical look." For example, the picture on the right shows facial features that many people with fetal alcohol syndrome have. People with non-syndromic intellectual disability do not look any different than a person without a disability. The symptoms of intellectual disability are all behavioral.

People with intellectual disability may have some or all of these:<ref name=":0" />
* They may learn to crawl, walk, or talk later than other children.
* They may have trouble remembering things.
* They may have trouble learning how to act in public.
* They may have trouble figuring out problems.
* They may learn how to take care of themselves slower.
* They may not learn when to not say or do something.
Most children with intellectual disabilities can learn. However, they usually will not learn things as fast as other children. They may need to be taught things in a certain way in order to learn them and remember them.

Intellectual disability is different from [[dementia]]. In dementia, people forget things, and they lose skills they once had. People with an intellectual disability never learn those skills.

== Causes ==
Often, nobody can determine what caused a child's intellectual disability. This happens in between one-third and one-half of all cases of intellectual disability.<ref name=":0" />

The top three most common causes of intellectual disability are [[Down syndrome]], [[Velocardiofacial syndrom]]e, and [[Fetal alcohol syndrome]].<ref name=":0" />

=== Genetic disorders ===
[[Genetic disorder]]s are caused by problems with a child's [[gene]]s. Children are [[Birth defect|born with these disorders]].
* For example, Down syndrome happens when a child has an extra copy of the 21st [[chromosome]]. Another example is [[22q11.2 deletion syndrome]], which causes other conditions like [[DiGeorge syndrome]].

=== Problems during pregnancy ===
Substances called [[teratogen]]s can prevent a [[fetus]] from developing normally. If a teratogen enters a woman's body while she is [[Pregnancy|pregnant]], it can cause developmental problems, like intellectual disabilities.

Examples of teratogens that can cause intellectual disabilities include:
* [[Alcohol]]
** Alcohol is the most common cause of intellectual disability which can be prevented. Alcohol is [[poison]]ous to a fetus and can cause fetal alcohol syndrome if a mother drinks while pregnant
* [[Illegal drugs]]
* Certain medications, like [[warfarin]] (a blood-thinning medicine) and [[thalidomide]]
* Certain [[toxic]] [[chemicals]], like [[Lead poisoning|lead]] and [[Mercury poisoning|mercury]], if a woman is exposed to enough of them during her pregnancy
* Certain diseases, like [[rubella]] and [[syphilis]], if the mother has them during pregnancy

=== Problems during birth ===
For example, if a child does not get enough oxygen during birth, it can hurt the brain and lead to intellectual disability later.

=== Diseases and trauma ===
Some childhood illnesses, like [[measles]] and [[Pertussis|whooping cough]], can cause intellectual disability if not treated properly. So can [[infection]]s that affect the brain, like [[meningitis]] and [[Virus|viral]] [[encephalitis]].

[[Brain injury|Brain injuries]] can cause intellectual disability at any age.

=== Malnutrition ===
A [[Malnutrition|severe lack of nutrition]] can lead to intellectual disability over time. {{fact|date=April 2018}}

=== Not having enough iodine in the body ===
[[Iodine deficiencies|Iodine deficiency]] (not having enough [[iodine]] in the body) can lead to several medical issues, including intellectual disability. The most common way to prevent this is by adding [[Iodised salt|iodine to salt]]. This is a much more common problem in [[Developing country|developing countries]].

== Diagnosis ==
[[File:Swing Occupational Therapy IMG 8713.jpg|thumb|A boy uses a swing during [[occupational therapy]]]]
In the [[DSM]], there are three requirements a person has to meet in order to be diagnosed with an intellectual disability.<ref>American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0-89042-555-8}}. Lay summary (15 July 2013)</ref>

=== Low intelligence quotient (IQ) ===
First, the person must have a low [[intelligence quotient]] (IQ). IQ is measured with an [[IQ test]].

If the person has an IQ of below 70, they ''may'' have an intellectual disability. However, they must still meet the other two requirements to be diagnosed with an intellectual disability.

=== Trouble with daily activities ===
Second, to qualify for an intellectual disability, a person must have trouble in more than one area of normal daily activities. These activities are often called "adaptive behaviors" or "activities of daily living (ADLs)." Some examples of adaptive behavior are:
* Getting dressed
* Using the bathroom
* Eating and drinking
* Being able to have a conversation
* Acting properly in different situations
To see if a child is having trouble with these, a doctor will talk to people who know the child, and will watch the child's behavior.

=== Beginning in childhood ===
The final requirement is that the symptoms of intellectual disability have to begin in childhood or [[adolescence]]. If the issues do not start at a young age, they are probably caused by a different illness of the brain.

== Management ==
There is currently no cure for intellectual disability. Those affected can learn to cope and do many things, if they get enough support and are taught well. There are many places around the world for someone with intellectual disability to get help. These places can take care of people with intellectual disabilities, as well as help them find jobs, find a house of their own, or help them take care of their children.

There are some different ways for people with intellectual disability and those around them to learn how to help the person with the disability.<ref>Mash, E., & Wolfe, D. (2013). Abnormal child psychology. (5th ed., pp. 308-313). Wadsworth Cengage Learning.</ref> One kind is psychosocial treatment. This is meant for very young children. Psychosocial treatment helps them learn basic skills and increase learning over their lifetime. Another kind is [[behavior]]al treatment. This is meant to help young people, but can be used for adults as well. Behavior treatment helps teach language skills as well as social skills like sharing or following instructions. A third kind of help is [[Cognitive-behavioral therapy|cognitive-behavioral treatment]]. This is a combination of the previous two treatments. Cognitive-behavioral therapy helps children with intellectual disability both learn skills and learn how to plan ahead. Another type of help a person with intellectual disability can get is family-oriented help. Family-oriented help focuses on teaching family members how to help the person in their family with intellectual disability.

Many people with an intellectual disability have other health problems, for which they will be given specific drugs. As an example, [[Autism|autistic]] children with developmental delay may use [[Antipsychotic|anti-psychotics]] or [[mood stabilizer]]s to help with behavior. Giving drugs to intellectually disabled people needs to be monitored; side-effects often occur, and are wrongly diagnosed as problems with behavior or as [[Psychiatry|psychiatric]] problems.<ref>Kalachnik, JE.; Hanzel, TE.; Sevenich, R.; Harder, SR. (Sep 2002). "Benzodiazepine behavioral side effects: review and implications for individuals with mental retardation". Am J Ment Retard 107 (5): 376–410. doi:10.1352/0895-8017(2002)107<0376:BBSERA>2.0.CO;2. <nowiki>PMID 12186578</nowiki></ref>

== History ==
[[File:Boy with Down syndrome Wellcome L0067015.jpg|thumb|A boy with Down Syndrome gets his picture taken]]
People have had intellectual disability throughout history. People with intellectual disability have had a lot of trouble in the past. The oldest idea of where intellectual disability came from was in ancient Greece. [[Hippocrates]] thought that intellectual disability was caused by an issue with the [[Four temperaments|four humors]]. For several hundred years in Europe, churches took care of people with intellectual disabilities. In the 17th century, Thomas Willis suggested that intellectual disability was a [[disease]] caused by issues with the structure of the [[brain]].<ref name=":1">Wickham, Parnell. Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society. Retrieved 8 October 2010.</ref> In the 18th and 19th centuries, people with intellectual disabilities were put in [[Psychiatric hospital|asylums]]. The asylums would give them basics like food and shelter, but were not always good to the people in them. In the early 20th century, people with intellectual disability were made to not be able to have children and could not marry. It was thought that this would reduce the amount of intellectual disabilities in the future.<ref name=":1" /> This is not done anymore because it does not follow the idea of [[human rights]].

In the 1950s, a group called the Civitans started to help people with intellectual disability. In the '70s, many people wanted to remove the [[stigma]] around people with intellectual disability. Now, people with intellectual disability are treated as people with something to be fixed instead of less than “normal” people. There are also fewer people with intellectual disability being sent to asylums.<ref name=":1" />

Words that were used to describe people with an intellectual disability have changed a lot. The most common words used today are “special”, “challenged”, "learning disabled" and “developmentally delayed”. Some previous words to describe people with intellectual disability are “cretin”, “idiot”, “imbecile”, “moron”, and “retarded”, all of which are now regarded as highly insulting.

== Society ==
People with intellectual disability are often treated badly by people without disabilities. They are often not allowed to make choices about their own lives and are not considered a full part of society. Their abusers are often people who are supposed to care for them. 39-83% of women with intellectual disability will be sexually abused before they are 18 years old.<ref>http://www.wwild.org/Victims%20of%20Crime/Downloads/Research/Vulnerability%20and%20Abuse%20of%20People%20with%20an%20Intellectual%20Disability/Davis%20n.d.pdf</ref>

The [[dignity]] and [[human rights]] of people with intellectual disability are protected by the [[Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities]] as well as other [[Disability|disabilities]] and equally like other persons without disabilities.

==References==
<references />
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[[Category:Psychology]]
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Intellectual disability - Revision history

Prab at 20:50, 19 March 2025

Prab at 03:02, 4 May 2023