Mental Retardation

Mental Retardation

Children with mental retardation are those who are subnormal in intelligence and also sociallly incompatent . It means those who have deficit in both intellectual functioning and adaptive capability.If a person has low intellectual functioning but he has adequate adaptive behavior, then the person is not considered mentally retarded. The retardation is manifested during the developmental period before or after birth.

Mental retardation is not a disease though the cause can be. Mental retardation is caused by many kinds of factors.It can be due to genetic factor like Down Syndrom or because of brain damage. Brain damage can be the result of infectious disease for example : meningistis, enchephalitis or accidents. Mental retardation can also be caused by poor environment. This cause is considered to be culturally familially retarded.

Some educators classify the mental retardation into:
Educable mentally retarded
Trainable mentally retarded
Severelly/profoundly handicapped
But most profesionals prefer to use the terms "mild", "moderate", "severe", and "profound". These term minimize negative stereotype of mentally retarded children.

Mentally retarded children need education with different individual orientations. For the mildly retarded the preschool and early elementary school is for readiness skills, such as following directions, developing language and self help skills. On the intermediate level the emphasis in on functional academics for the purpose of independent life.For the moderately retarded the education is even less academics but more functional. Beside the self help and vocational skill, the sheltered workshop is a vital part of the moderately retarded person depending on the capabilities.