Mentally Disabled or Retardation Child : Definition, Causes and Characteristics

• Mentally Disabled / Mentally Retardation Children

Some children are not able to do any of their work smoothly. Such children do their work with the help of others as compared to normal children. These children are so mentally weak that they cannot easily understand the instructions or orders given by anyone, nor can they adjust to any person other than the family.

According to Terman, "A child with an IQ less than 70 is called a mentally disabled child."

Mentally disabled can also be called mentally retardation. Mental retardation refers to the mental state of a person. From the comparative study of normal children and mentally disabled children, it can be known that how much difference is there in the abilities of both.

In the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the APA replaced "mental retardation" with "intellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder)". The original name in the APA included "(Intellectual Developmental Disorder)".

• Definition of Mentally Disabled

Rosen, fox & Gregory have written about mental disability, “Mental retardation refers to a condition of birth or early childhood in which disability in standardized intellectual functioning is detected by standardized testing. Same is also seen in the adaptive behavior disrupted to different demands of the social environment of individual.

American Association of National Retardation has given its opinion on the issue of mental retardation - "Mental retardation refers to substantial limitations in present functioning. it is characterized by significantly sub-average intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with related limitations in two or more of the following applicable adaptive skill areas, communication, self care, home living, social skills, community use. self direction, health and agaty, functional academics, leisure and work, mental retardation manifests before the age. g 18."

According to British Mental Deficiency Act, what is mental retardation - "Mental retardation is a condition of incomplete and interrupted brain development before the age of 18 years, which results from genetic cause or due to any disease or accident."

 • Causes of mental Retardation

Why does mental retardation happen? For what reason does a normal child also fall in this category? The reason for mental inferiority can also be due to pregnancy and also environmental. This is being discussed further -

Davenport has mentioned the following 7 reasons for mental retardation -

1. Due to chromosomal distortion

2. Defect caused at the time of fertilization of ovum

3. Defect caused at the time of fetal stage

4. Fetal defects

5. Planting defects

6. Defects related to perinatal strokes

7. Trauma in infancy and childhood

Kirk has divided it into three parts -

1. Organic 2. Heredity 3. Cultural

Considering the scholarly and direct causes, two reasons for mental retardation are clearly visible -

1. Heredity Causes

2. Environment causes

1. Heredity Causes

The first cause of Mental retardation is heredity or genetics, which are obtained from their family through deformed chromosomes. If the parents are of mental illness or retardation, then these qualities definitely come in the children. But this quality is also not necessary in all the children of a parent, nor does it come with perfect qualities. There is a difference in chromosomes. For example, if the parents are 80% mentally retarded, then it can remain up to 60-20% in the children.

2. Environmental Causes

 Environment shows its influence in every moment of a person's life. Even if who person is not mad, the environment drives him mad. There can be different forms of environment -

1. Due to lack of proper care of diseases occurring in children, it also causes mental retardation.

2. There is a possibility of mental retardation due to diseases like mentally dengue, typhyed, Sncephalitis, meningities paralysis etc.

3. Women's becoming a mother at an early age leads the child to mental illness.

4. Excess of devilish food (alcohol, meat) also produces mental retardation in the child.

5. Lack of control over the emotions by the boy or girl also disturbs the mental adjustment.

6. Discrimination in behavior by family creates disturbance in the brain.

7. Social backwardness can be the cause of mental retardation.

8. Economic difference creates inferiority in children which leads to mental inferiority.

9. Even through mental frustration, the child gradually acquires mental illness.

10. Excessive noise or excess of family members also affects the mental balance.

11. An unfavorable environment generates mental abnormality.

• Characteristics of Mentally Retarded Children

To know the characteristics of mentally retarded children, we should first identify these children that how those children are different from other children mentally? Skinner has described the characteristics of children with retarded intelligence as follows -

1. Difficulty in using learning material in a new situation

2. Making decisions regardless of the circumstances.

3. be concerned about oneself

4. causally lack of clarity

5. specific reactions to persons and events

Like Skinner, Friendsson has written for the identification of children with mental retardation -

1. Lack of confidence

2. Intelligence quotient between 50-75

3. Emotional stability and emotional behavior

The following characteristics of abnormal children are reflected on the basis of psychologists and Indian social thinkers like Friendsson and Skinner etc.

1. Children with mental retardation have a slow learning rate.

2. Such children often cannot think abstract or concrete.

3. Learning is negligible.

4. IQ remains between 50 and 75.

5. Deficit of memory power is found in the mentally retarded children.

6. There is emotional instability.

7. 2 to 7 years behind normal children.

8. There is a lack of sociality.

9. There is a decrease in aptitude.

10. Due to mental illness, there is a deformity in the physical structure.

11. There is neglect in doing physical activities, that is, such children do the activities done by their body at a slow pace.

12. Often the body remains unwell.

13. Such children often pronounce incomplete words.

14. There is a lack of originality in the mentally retarded children.

15. Mentally retarded children are dependent on other family members.

• Problems of Mentally Retarded Children 

Being a part of the family and society, the child has to live in a limited set of ideas and traditions to himself, family or society. For a child with mental retardation, who is not aware of what he is doing, living in the society is not only a problem, but his family has more problems. Some of problems are as follows-

1. Confession

First problem of children with mental retardation is to be considered retarded. No member of the family considers him to be retarded. If the child's intelligence is between 70-75, that is, that child's intelligence is not more or less, that child will not consider himself to be mentally backward. Therefore, to consider mentally retarded children to be retarded, there should be a need for confession so that some remedy can be taken.

2. Adjustment

There is often a problem in the adjustment of mentally retarded children with retarded intelligence. By the way, the family takes full care of the retarded member. In the context of adjustment, the following facts reveal the problem of children with mental retardation-

1. In the family, the parents give full support to that unusual child, but other family members are 'just carrying' this child.

2. Retarded child does the work of study according to his ability, but the parents give him further mental correction due to his ambition which is unfair.

3. Mentally disabled child is ignored by the family on many occasions.

4. Giving less importance to that child than other family members.

5. Uncooperative behavior of the neighborhood with the child with mental retardation.

6. Seeing the retarded children with inferiority by the people of the society.

7. Society and the people of the neighborhood should not allow their children to play with that child.

8. Lack of complete care of the child by the teacher and the principal in the school.

9. Considering it as a separate category by the students of the school.

3. Environment

If the mentally retarded children get a conducive environment, then most of the children achieve mental health and the mentally disabled children get the required improvement. Human nature is such that if it is mentioned repeatedly, then it accepts it as true.

It has been seen directly many times that someone has created such an environment for a normal child that he is being called retarded in front of him, then after some time he will automatically feel that he is really mental retarded and he is come in the category of mental retardation. Therefore, the unsanitary environment is also a cause of problem for such children.

• Frequently Asked Question (FAQs)

Q. 01. What are the characteristics of children with mental retardation?

Ans : 1. Difficulty in using learning material in a new situation. 2. Making decisions regardless of the circumstances. 3. be concerned about oneself. 4. causally lack of clarity. 5. specific reactions to persons and events.

Q. 02. What causes severe mental retardation?

Ans : Davenport has mentioned the following 7 reasons for mental retardation -

1. Due to chromosomal distortion

2. Defect caused at the time of fertilization of ovum

3. Defect caused at the time of fetal stage

4. Fetal defects

5. Planting defects

6. Defects related to perinatal strokes

7. Trauma in infancy and childhood

Q. 03. What is mental retardation called now?

Ans : In the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the APA replaced "mental retardation" with "intellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder)". The original name in the APA included "(Intellectual Developmental Disorder)".

Q. 04. What are the 4 levels of mental retardation?

Ans : Level 1. Mild Mental Retardation : I.Q. range of from 55 to 69.

Level 2. Moderate Retardation : I.Q. range of from 40 to 54.

Level 3. Severe Retardation : I.Q. range of from 25 to 39.

Level 4. Profound Mental Retardation : I.Q. less than 25 i.e.

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