Raven's Guide to Special Eduction: Disabilities- Page 3

Disabilities - 3

Summary | PDD | ED | HI | MR | MD |
OHI | OI | SLD | ADHD | SLI | TBI | VI

Mental retardation

The large majority of retarded people fall in the mild range of retardation. A disproportionate number of mildly retarded persons come from families of the lowest socioeconomic classes, while the more severe levels of retardation seem to equally affect all social classes. More males than females are retarded.

Known causes of retardation account for less than half of the retarded population. These causes include Down Syndrome, rubella, asphyxia, meningitis, and head trauma. Of those retarded with unknown causes, most come from impoverished environments and have parents of low intelligence. There is no medication used to treat mental retardation, but many retarded students take medications for other problems.

Mentally deficient students, for special education purposes, are classified as mildly, moderately or severely retarded, based upon their performance on tests of intelligence and adaptive behavior. They are students who show an overall slowness in development and learning that may make them seem younger than they really are. However, the majority of these students are capable of learning at their own pace. They are more likely to have other disabilities than students without cognitive limitations.

Mildly retarded students typically learn at a considerably slower rate than other students of the same age. They can learn basic academic skills, and as adults they usually can develop the social and vocational skills needed for minimum self-support. They often show difficulty with language, remembering things, following directions and coordinating the use of their eyes and hands. These students, for special education placement purposes, often are called educable mentally handicapped.

Moderately mentally retarded students tend to be further behind in all areas of development. They often are late in learning to speak. Within the classroom they need to be repetitively shown how to do things. Teachers who work with these students limit activities to small units that can be practiced one at a time. These students can benefit from training in social and occupational skills, but as adults they need supervision and sheltered work conditions.

IQ	Classification
130 +	very superior
120 - 129	superior
110 - 119	high average
90 - 109	average
80 - 89	low average
70 - 79	borderline
69 -	mentally retarded

Severely retarded students require help with all of their daily needs. Many have special problems with movement and feeding. Because of the severity of their problems, some may need to attend private schools where they can receive highly specialized assistance. Some of these students never learn to use speech; others can be taught to communicate using sign language. Some of these students may have sensory impairments, cerebral palsy, or epilepsy. Others may be blind or deaf. As adults they need complete supervision although they may acquire some self-care skills.

Multiple disabilities

Multiply disabled children vary so widely depending upon their combination of problems that they often do not fit into established categories, nor do they share a defining set of characteristics. However, they do share similar educational needs — developing basic skills in social, self-help, physical mobility, and communication areas. Such children, for example, may be deaf and blind, mentally retarded and emotionally disturbed, or physically impaired and retarded. Among moderately and severely retarded children, multiple disabilities are relatively common. Educational programs for such students often must accommodate their need for medication or adaptive aids and equipment.

Of all disabled children, perhaps the greatest variety of multiple disabilities is seen in children with cerebral palsy, a condition in which brain damage before or at birth leads to partial paralysis. The most common cause of the disorder is traumatic delivery. Other causes include oxygen deprivation and severe abnormalities of the heart.

Some children with cerebral palsy have only a mild motor impairment and can function successfully in regular classes. Others have more substantially impaired control of their muscles that requires services through a program for the orthopedically impaired. Many, however, have significant deficits in speech and language, intellectual functioning, vision and hearing, and social adjustment.

This Web site includes a list of abbreviations used in special education.

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