Mental Retardation is a condition of subnormal intellectual and social development. A mentally retarded person’s intelligence ranks significantly below average and social functioning of such person is less competent than that of the other people of same age and cultural group.

Many retarded children are not recognized as retarded until they start school and fail to learn to well. Most of these youngest are not at all unusual in appearance. On the other hand, some seriously retarded youngsters are identifies early in life because they are now to set up, walk or talk, or because they have physical handicaps.

Caring for the regarded at home requires great patience understanding
Many parents have difficulty in adjusting to the fact that their children has below average mental ability. Counselling has helped many parents accept the situation and learn how to help their children.

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DEGREE OF MENTAL RETARDATION

Mental ability can be measured by I.Q. i.e. a person’s score in the Intelligence Test. People of average intelligence score 90-109 in such a test. An I.Q of below 70 signifies one of four degrees of mental retardation
1) Mild 2) Moderate 3) Serve and 4) Profound. Mildly Retarded people have I.Q of 50 to 70. They account for most of the mentally handicapped .Some of them are placed in special schools. Others attend normal. By the time the mildly retarded reach their late teens, they may be able to do simple school work. Many mildly retarded adults can support themselves to some extent as unskilled or semi-skilled workers. They are slower in learning and understanding as compared to normal children.

Moderately retarded people have IQs of 35 to 50. They can make little or no progress in the subjects as reading writing and arithmetic‘s. Most require special schools. They can learn to care for themselves and perform useful task at home or in sheltered workshops. These children much slower in learning and understanding

Severely retarded people have IQs 20 to 30. They require training in language, personal hygiene and getting along with others. Severely retarded induvisiuals must be care for throughout life. They need help even to bath go to the toilet, put on cloths and eat.

Profoundly retarded people have IQs below 20 and never advance beyond the mental age of baby or toddler. Many need total care to survive; through they may be able to learn to walk and to recognize familiar faces.

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CAUSES

Mental retardation may result from many different factors. The normal development of a human being is so complex that almost any thing that interfaceseres with it may contribute to retardation.

MULTIPLE CAUSES

Many mentally retarded induvisiuals seem to be handicapped by a combination of factors none of which by itself could have produced the retardation. Some parents too discouraged or too overworked to provide a good learning environment for their children further more, many different genes contribute to intelligence, and a child may inherit an unlucky combination of many genes.

SINGLE CAUSE

In a small number of cases a single causes accounts for most of retardation. These causes have such overwhelming effects that normal development is impossible. Single causes may be genetic (inherited) or environmental.

Genetic conditions causing mental retardation include the presence of an extra chromosome or an abnormal chromosome in the cells. Chromosomes are cellular structures that contain the heredity controlling genes. The presence of an extra chromosome causes Dawn’s Syndrome. The fragile X Syndrome involves an abnormality of the X chromosome, of the chromosomes that determines a person’s sex. This condition affects mostly males. More rarely retardation may be caused by absence of necessary Chromosome. Retardations was also a result from the effects of a dominant gene or a pair of recessive genes that interface with abnormal grouping or metabolism.
Phenylketonuria(PKU), a condition in which a person cannot transform are kind of amino acid into a related amino acid, results from a pair or recessive genes PKU causes a brain damage if the diet is not controlled.

Environment causes of mental retardation may occur before, during or after birth. A child may be retarded if mother contracts such disease as rubella (German measles) or syphilips during pregnancy.

The mental development of child may also be affected by other factors concerning the mother’s health during her youth or while she is pregent. These factors include her nutrition, her age and general health and her use of drugs. Events at birth can also cause retardation. They include premature birth, injury during delivery and failure of newborn breathe properly. During childhood retardation can result from such causes as brain infection, head injury during prolonged high fever, swallowing poisonous substances, or breathing such substances from polluted air.

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PREVENTION

Proper care of the mother before and during pregnancy can be prevent many cases of mental retardation. Proper delivery and care of sick or premature infants also helps reduce the number of cases, Damages resulting from PKU and a few other disorders can be controlled after birth by a special diet or treatment with drugs

Doctors can be identify through tests some couples for whom having children would involve a high risk of genetic damage. Many such couples decide not to risk having a defective child. Other test can reveal certain kinds of genetic conditions in a baby. The parents may then decide to discontinue the pregnancy.

Retardation produced by multiple causes is more difficult to prevent. Many experts believe the number of such cases could best be reduced by improving the living conditions, health education.

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TREATMENT

The mentally retarded cannot be “cured”. But in most cases, a great deal can be done to help their intellectual and social development. Much of this treatment consists of appropriate education or training .In many countries ,it is the legal right of every school- age no matter how seriously retarded, to have the opportunity to learn to function to the best of his or her ability. In some cases, training can begin in infancy. It may continue until the individual established in an adult role

As retarded children grow up, their education tends to centre more and more on the skills they will need as adults. Many mildly retarded adults become good workers and good citizens. Mildly retarded adult who cannot hold a job and moderately retarded adults may work in a sheltered workshops, a centre that employee the handicapped. These men and women may live with their families unto a certain limit. The basic question keep on hunting the parents,” What will happen to them after us”? The family having severally retarded and profound cases lives in emotionally disturbed state. The mother has to sacrifice her career to look after such a case. In any case, they are likely to live permanently in residential facilities.

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