Mentally Retarded.

Mentally Retarted
A mentally retarded person is slow to learn and may be slow or limited in the development of physical skills. Additionally, physical handicaps may be present, such as speech impairments, visual impairments, hearing defects, or epilepsy. Reminder: Because these secondary handicapping conditions are common among people with mental retardation, this does not mean that individuals who have a speech impairment or epilepsy are mentally retarded.
Subnormal intellectual development as a result of congenital causes, brain injury, or disease and characterized by any of various cognitive deficiencies, including impaired learning, social, and vocational ability. Also called mental deficiency


According to the American Association on Mental Deficiency, mental retarded is defined as subaverage general intellectual functioning that originates during the developmental period (prenatal to 16 years) and is associated with impairment in adaptive behavior. Three common classifications used include:

        * Mildly (Educable) -- Mental Age 8-12; learn to approximately 6th grade level.
        * Moderately (Trainable) -- Mental Age 5-8; cannot learn academic subjects in school.
        * Severely/Profoundly -- Many require life-long care and supervision and are often confined to institutions.

-Researched By: Esguerra Kimberly


Signs and Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of mental retardation are all behavioral. Most people with mental retardation do not look like they have any type of intellectual disability, especially if the disability is caused by environmental factors such as malnutrition or lead poisoning. The so-called "typical appearance" ascribed to people with mental retardation is only present in a minority of cases, all of which involve syndromic mental retardation.
Children with mental retardation 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 mental retardation may also exhibit some or all of the following characteristics:

    * Delays in oral language development
    * Deficits in memory skills
    * Difficulty learning social rules
    * Difficulty with problem solving skills
    * Delays in the development of adaptive behaviors such as self-help or self-care skills
    * Lack of social inhibitors

Children with mental retardation learn more slowly than a typical child. Children may take longer to learn language, develop social skills, and take care of their personal needs, such as dressing or eating. Learning will take them longer, require more repetition, and skills may need to be adapted to their learning level. Nevertheless, virtually every child is able to learn, develop and become a participating member of the community.
In early childhood, mild mental retardation (IQ 50–69, a cognitive ability about half to two-thirds of standard) may not be obvious, and may not be identified until children begin school.Even when poor academic performance is recognized, it may take expert assessment to distinguish mild mental retardation from learning disability or emotional/behavioral disorders. People with mild MR are capable of learning reading and mathematics skills to approximately the level of a typical child aged 9 to 12.They can learn self-care and practical skills, such as cooking or using the local mass transit system.As individuals with mild mental retardation reach adulthood, many learn to live independently and maintain gainful employment.
Moderate mental retardation (IQ 35–49) is nearly always apparent within the first years of life. Speech delays are particularly common signs of moderate MR.People with moderate mental retardation need considerable supports in school, at home, and in the community in order to participate fully. While their academic potential is limited, they can learn simple health and safety skills and to participate in simple activities.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. As adults, they may work in a sheltered workshop.
A person with severe or profound mental retardation will need more intensive support and supervision his or her entire life.They may learn some activities of daily living. Some will require full-time care by an attendant.

-Researched By: Sanchez,Tony Ann

 Causes:
Not all the causes of mental retardation are known; however, more than 200 have been identified, and many others are suspected. The known causes can be placed into five categories:

    * Genetic Irregularities -- for example x-ray exposure, incompatibility of genes inherited from parents, Rh blood factor incompatibility, Down's Syndrome, error in metabolism, or recessive genetic traits.
    * Pregnancy Complications -- for example poor nutrition, German measles, tumors, glandular disorders, infections, exposure to toxic agents, or radiation.
    * Birth Problems -- for example premature birth, too rapid birth, prolonged birth, or any circumstance that reduces the oxygen supply to the infant's brain.
    * Post Birth Situations -- for example childhood diseases, especially in the very young (chicken pox,measles, meningitis, whooping cough); high fevers, severe injuries to the brain, lack of certain chemicals in the blood, or glandular imbalance.
    * Environmental Factors -- for example being born and reared in a deprived environment where there is little opportunity to learn; or serious emotional problems.

-Researched By:Lasco,Elyca

Diagnosis
According to the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV),three criteria must be met for a diagnosis of mental retardation: an IQ below 70, significant limitations in two or more areas of adaptive behavior (as measured by an adaptive behavior rating scale, i.e. communication, self-help skills, interpersonal skills, and more), and evidence that the limitations became apparent before the age of 18.
It is formally diagnosed by professional assessment of intelligence and adaptive behavior.
IQ below 70
The first English-language IQ test, the Terman-Binet, was adapted from an instrument used to measure potential to achieve developed by Binet in France. Terman translated the test and employed it as a means to measure intellectual capacity based on oral language, vocabulary, numerical reasoning, memory, motor speed and analysis skills. The mean score on the currently available IQ tests is 100, with a standard deviation of 15 (WAIS/WISC-IV) or 16 (Stanford-Binet). Sub-average intelligence is generally considered to be present when an individual scores two standard deviations below the test mean. Factors other than cognitive ability (depression, anxiety, etc.) can contribute to low IQ scores; it is important for the evaluator to rule them out prior to concluding that measured IQ is "significantly below average".
The following ranges, based on Standard Scores of intelligence tests, reflect the categories of the American Association of Mental Retardation, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-TR, and the International Classification of Diseases-10.
Class    IQ
Profound mental retardation    Below 20
Severe mental retardation    20–34
Moderate mental retardation    35–49
Mild mental retardation    50–69
Borderline intellectual functioning    70–84
Since the diagnosis is not based only on IQ scores, but must also take into consideration a person's adaptive functioning, the diagnosis is not made rigidly. It encompasses intellectual scores, adaptive functioning scores from an adaptive behavior rating scale based on descriptions of known abilities provided by someone familiar with the person, and also the observations of the assessment examiner who is able to find out directly from the person what he or she can understand, communicate, and the like.
Significant limitations in two or more areas of adaptive behavior
Adaptive behavior, or adaptive functioning, refers to the skills needed to live independently (or at the minimally acceptable level for age). To assess adaptive behavior, professionals compare the functional abilities of a child to those of other children of similar age. To measure adaptive behavior, professionals use structured interviews, with which they systematically elicit information about persons' functioning in the community from people who know them well. There are many adaptive behavior scales, and accurate assessment of the quality of someone's adaptive behavior requires clinical judgment as well. Certain skills are important to adaptive behavior, such as:

    * Daily living skills, such as getting dressed, using the bathroom, and feeding oneself
    * Communication skills, such as understanding what is said and being able to answer
    * Social skills with peers, family members, spouses, adults, and others

-Researhed By:Manoles,Mark Anthony

MENTAL ILLNESS The Seventeenth through the Nineteenth Centuries

The history of mental illness in the United States reflects the ever-changing landscape of mental disorders and the medical specialties responsible for their management and treatment. Mental illness (psychiatric disorders) is a nebulous term that has evolved over time. Insanity, lunacy, madness, mental illness, derangement, or unreason are among the many labels used to describe those individuals who, for various reasons, are psychologically unable to successfully function in society and require some form of intervention or treatment. The underlying causality for mental illness may be either physical (as in senile dementia), psychological (as in depression), or a combination of both. Since the middle of the nineteenth century, medical science has revolutionized treatment for numerous medical conditions, including mental illness. Many conditions previously believed to be psychological have been determined to be organic and removed from psychiatric nomenclature (conditions caused by vitamin deficiency, for example). Other conditions, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorders, are the subject of dispute as to whether or not they are organic or psychological. Consequently, psychiatric nosology (the use of diagnostic categories) has remained fluid, as has the reported incidence of mental illness, ranging from approximately 3 percent of the population for psychotic disorders to 50 percent of the population for depression. Treatment approaches have been fluid as well, ranging from the exclusively physical to the exclusively psychological. Most mental health professionals advocate a combination of physical (psychotropic medications) and psychological (counseling) for most forms of mental disturbance.

-Researched By:Lingad,John Ruffert

Evidence that the limitations became apparent in childhood
This third condition is used to distinguish mental retardation from dementing conditions such as Alzheimer's disease or due to traumatic injuries with attendant brain damage.
 
-Researched By: Laurio,Bien