Intellectual Disabilities Research Paper

According to the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (2017), an intellectual disability is classified as a deficit in “intellectual functioning” and “adaptive behaviors.” For a disability to be qualified as an intellectual disability it must have originated before the age of 18. Some diagnoses that fit under intellectual disability include autism, Down Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome, and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. “Developmental disability” is the umbrella term, encompassing many other disabilities, including those that fall under the category of intellectual disability. Developmental disabilities typically impact an individual in a physical way, such as cerebral palsy or epilepsy.

An intellectual disability, like the one had by Roland Johnson and about one percent to three percent of people, is defined as “a disability that is present at birth or occurs in the developmental period (before the age of 18) and is characterized by significant sub-average intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with related limitations in 2 or more areas of adaptive functioning” (Daul). Roland Johnson, though his life was hard, did not let his “limitations” limit him.

If parents, teachers, and other professionals discover a child's learning disability early and provide the right kind of help, it can give the child a chance to develop skills needed to lead a successful and productive life. The LD online website provides a long list of characteristics that might indicate a learning disability between the ages of Kindergarten and high school. Some common signs of a learning disability that as a teacher we can look for in the classroom would be, a student speaks later than most children, pronunciation problems, slow vocabulary growth, student is often unable to find the right word, difficulty rhyming words, trouble learning numbers, alphabet, colors, and shapes, extremely restless and easily distracted, trouble interacting with peers, difficulty following directions or routines, and lastly the fine motor skills are slow to develop. Once the teacher or parents can understand what type of learning disability a child has they can help them succeed academically by providing instruction better and understanding the person

Disabilities; these may include a physical or learning disability. Children with a learning disability may not be capable of holding their attention for an extended period or pay close attention in class. A learning disability is not a problem with intelligence, disorders are caused by a difference in how information is received, processed and communicated in the brain.

In order for an individual to be recognised as having a learning disability, during their assessment three core criteria must be identified. The individual must present with; a significantly lower than average intellect, a reduced ability to function in, and adjust to, their environment, or the inability to interrelate with others. Whilst diagnosis can take place at any age, these difficulties must arise during childhood.

Learning disabilities are defined as the inability to process information and the inability to communicate effectively. This can cause problems during the child’s years in school. It is often characterized by as having a below average intellectual functioning level as well as below average adaptational skills.

Neurological systems were also evaluated to identify any existing health or comorbidities promptly and to utilize interventions such as referral to neurologists, ophthalmologists, or speech pathologists if necessary. Developmental red flags, in this case, would include the inability to understand the use of action words and being unable to follow two-step direction (Bellman et al., 2013). This would be indicative of receptive language delay. Expressive language delays are characterized by a child’s inability to ask for things by name, use no less than 200 words, or repeat phrases in response to questions (Stevenson & Richman, 2016). However, none of these red flags was reported by the child’s

Subsequently, if developmental delays are identified in the assessment process it may suggest that the child is experiencing

In order for a student to be diagnosed for any disability, there is a process that involves many people that are important in the child’s life. The school must conduct tests that measure the child’s academic success in the classroom, as well as tests that measure IQ (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children), work samples, developmental history (usually get this information from the parents), physical exams (vision, hearing etc.), psychological tests, adaptive skills (BASC) and other areas as needed. Testing is usually done by professionals from various disciplines. In order to qualify for special education services under IDEA, the disability must impact the child’s ability to be academically successful (IDEA, 2004).

The first step in any research is to accurately define the population of interest. Intellectual Disability (ID) has been called by many different terms: mental retardation, learning disability, mental handicap, and developmentally delayed. Generally, these terms are accepted as interchangeable (Schalock, Luckasson & Shogren, 2007). However, over time some of the characteristics required to receive a diagnosis of ID has changed. In the recent past, the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Metal Disorders Text Revised (DSM IV TR) identified three criteria necessary to be diagnosed with ID. This included: impairments of intellectual functioning (IQ<70) are not necessarily excluded from the diagnosis. By deemphasized the importance of low IQ the as a defining feature of ID the diagnosis expanded its definition to include individual assessed with borderline intelligence and above (fact sheet reference).

Speech problems, some children don’t even talk at all, some may say a few words but they all use different ways of communication. Jerky, puppet-like movements, Stiff-legged walking style, hand flopping, hyperactive behavior, and some children have trouble sleeping. They are also loving, happy, and have social behavior, they are children easily moved to laughter. Intellectual disability- a child will have delayed development in all areas and disability is severe in most

According to the website for the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, IDD is defined as: intellectual disability is a disability characterized by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers a range of everyday social and practical skills. Furthermore, there are three major criteria for intellectual disability: significant limitations in intellectual functions, significant limitations in adaptive behavior, and onset before the age of 18. IDD is not determined by an IQ test; however, it does help in measuring mental function. A test score below of around 70—or as high as 75—indicates a limitation in intellectual functioning. (http://aaidd.org/intellectual-disability/definition/faqs-on-intellectual-disability#.VZvvE8JRHrc).

Children born with disabilities have to face challenges every day, some more than others depending upon their disability. There are four types of intellectual disabilities, mild, moderate, severe, and profound. To determine if a child is intellectual disabled, his or her IQ would have to be tested and an adaptive behavior is reviewed (NICHCY, 2013).

The DSM also specifies that these symptoms must be exist in the child’s early developmental period and must produce “clinically significant” impairment for the individual in social, occupational, or other important areas of daily functioning. Failing to create normal social relationships can have detrimental long-term effects, so it is important to assess an individual for a developmental disability as soon as possible. The sooner a diagnosis can be made, the sooner treatment can begin. Many studies have found that the sooner a child received therapy, the better their long-term results were

In order for a student to be diagnosed with an intellectual disability the child must have an IQ significantly lower than the average to the general intellectual functioning and demonstrate significant deficits in adaptive, conceptual, social and practical adaptive skills as well. These deficits should be present during a child’s developmental years, before the age of 18.