Mental retardation: how to recognize and what to do

Surely, you have heard more than once about the concept of “mental retardation.” This is often discussed in the media. At the same time, for the sake of entertainment, the true facts are distorted. As a result, people develop misconceptions about mentally retarded people.

Signs of mental retardation

This disease consists in the fact that a person’s intellectual development indicators are reduced to one degree or another. Signs of this condition usually appear in early childhood, but in some cases, mental retardation occurs hidden until the child goes to school or kindergarten.

The most common signs that appear are:

• Start of sitting, crawling or walking too late.
• The child pronounces his first words too late and has problems with speech.
• The baby begins to master independent care skills with difficulty and very late.
• He has constant difficulty remembering.
• Child cannot install logical cause-and-effect relationships.
• The baby may have sudden tantrums.
• The child cannot think logically.

In severe mental retardation, health problems are also associated with these signs. The child may have seizures, problems with coordination and motor activity in general, and mental disorders.

Degrees of mental retardation

Mental retardation, like many other diseases, has several degrees of severity. In each specific case, the degree of the disease is assessed by the level of intellectual development or IQ. An IQ of 100 is considered the norm. With an IQ of less than 70 points, we can already talk about mental retardation.

The mild stage of the disease is characterized by an IQ level of 50-69 points and is called debility. Outwardly, a person with such an illness does not differ in any way from other healthy individuals. Usually they suffer inability to concentrate. Therefore, they often experience learning problems. But at the same time, these individuals have a fairly good memory. They are often unnerved by unfamiliar surroundings and feel strongly dependent on loved ones. Typically, individuals with a mild stage of mental retardation feel difficulty communicating or, on the contrary, attract attention to themselves with antisocial behavior. Such people are well aware of their illness, but carefully hide it from society.

The average degree of the disease is characterized by an IQ level from 20 to 49 points. This condition is called imbecility. Patients with this diagnosis easily distinguish praise from punishment, can express their emotions and empathize with another person or animal. Such people can be taught to take care of themselves, sometimes they even learn to count, write and read. But they are not able to live separately from people close to them without outside help. They need care and constant monitoring.

If the intellectual level is below 20 points, a severe degree of the disease is assigned, which is called idiocy. Patients with this condition are not capable of any learning, they cannot speak and are not able to control their movements. Their emotional range is extremely limited. Persons with this diagnosis require strict supervision, so they are kept exclusively in specialized institutions.

Causes of mental retardation

This serious illness can develop for many reasons, some of which have not yet been fully examined and studied. In general, all reasons are divided into external and internal. Their effect manifests itself in the womb or in the first months or years of life.

Among the main reasons leading to mental retardation are the following:

• Diseases that the mother suffered during pregnancy. Such dangerous conditions include poisoning with toxic substances or drugs.
• Dangerous and severe infections during pregnancy. These are diseases such as influenza, rubella or scarlet fever.
• Severe metabolic disorders in a pregnant woman.
• Severe injury received by the baby during pregnancy or during childbirth. This happens from squeezing the baby's head with obstetric forceps, too slow or, conversely, too fast labor.
• Due to intrauterine infection of the child with parasites. These causes include toxoplasmosis.
• Heredity is of great importance. Most cases of intellectual disability have a genetic form. These are various chromosomal disorders - Down syndrome and others.
• In young children, mental retardation is caused by inflammation of the meninges.
• Severe forms of metabolic disorders.
• External factors include the environmental situation, bad habits of the mother, and material living conditions.

Treatment of mental retardation

Such a serious illness as mental retardation simply cannot be avoided without treatment. An important factor is timely diagnosis of the disease and early initiation of treatment. In this case, we can talk about the development of the child’s intellectual abilities. In severe cases of the disease, treatment is aimed at doing everything possible to adapt the patient to society and establish contact with him.

Medication therapy is used for treatment. The patient is given a special diet. In case of inappropriate or dangerous behavior, tranquilizers may be prescribed. To improve speech, speech therapy classes should be carried out. To establish contact with society, they conduct classes with a psychologist and teach a person some simple profession.

Remember that if the problem is caught early, mental retardation can be cured. This requires a lot of effort and patience. With the right behavior, you can return your child to normal life.