Mental Retardation (MR)

If the child suffers from mental delay, he or she may suffer from impairment or lack of special skills and daily life practices while not being able to adapt, keep up with life and think.
We cannot say that a child with a mental delay does not learn skills, but learns them more slowly than other peers and that there are some skills that he or she may not be able to learn. Many people may also notice childhood symptoms.

What is mental retardation?

The term mental retardation refers to the brain’s inadequate development, which makes a person’s level of intelligence below normal.
This makes a person experience some skills such as social skills, self-care, and communication.

This can happen at any time before the child reaches the age of 18 even before the Child’s birth.
An intelligence quotient (IQ) test is performed on people with mental delays.

Average IQ by IQ test 100 between (85 and 115).
In the case of testing people with mental delays, their IQ is lower than 70th to 70th.

Types of mental retardation.

There are many signs or symptoms that a child with mental retardation may show.
The time of their appearance depends on their degree of severity.
Symptoms may appear at the Child’s lactation stage or may appear when the child reaches school.
Thus, the degrees of Mental Retardation (MR) vary into three types.
 Mild mental retardation.
 Moderate mental retardation.
 Severe mental retardation.

First, Mild mental retardation:

Mild mental retardation is diagnosed in case the IQ test was performed and the IQ was among the. (50_69).
The most significant symptom of this type in children and adults is:
 Difficulties in reading and writing.
 social immaturity.
 Take advantage of special education plans.
 Having difficulties in learning to communicate but will be of quality after learning in the process of social communication.

 Those people can live a successful level of life either in an independent environment or a supervised environment.

Second, Medium mental retardation:

Average mental retardation is diagnosed if the child’s IQ (is 35_49).

About 10% of people with mental retardation are on this list.
Moderate mental retardation is characterized by difficulty of learning as the following symptoms:
 Slow use and understanding of language.
 Not being able to live alone.
 Ability to navigate in familiar places.
 Not being able to learn the basics of reading and writing.
 They are slow to learn to speak.
 They often live in supervised places.

Third, Severe mental retardation:

People with severe mental retardation are diagnosed if their IQ is below 34.
This list includes about 4% of all individuals with mental retardation.
The symptoms of these children are:
 The likelihood of the Child or adult’s inability to move.
 Inability to understand the guidance or requests of others.
 He suffers from urinary tuberculosis.
 Movement problems.
 Inability to live independently.
 Simple communication and be nonverbal.
 The need for continuous care and supervision.

Causes of mental retardation.

We cannot determine a specific cause of the child’s mental retardation, but we can say that the causes may include the:
 The mother is exposed to drinking alcohol before birth in what is known as fetal alcohol syndrome.
 Reasons related to birth time such as premature birth, or lack of oxygen intake.
 Chromosomal abnormalities such as Down’s syndrome.
 The Child’s exposure to mercury or lead poisoning.
 Nutrition problems such as acute malnutrition.
 Severe cases of early childhood diseases such as measles, meningitis, or pertussis.
 Exposure to head injury.
 Developing certain genetic diseases that may be complicated by mental retardation such as phenylketonuria (PKU) disease or Tay Sachs disease.

Symptoms of mental retardation.

Symptoms vary from person to person depending on the condition or level of disability.
Most people with mental retardation share the inability to engage in daily activities, as well as poor participation in family and community activities.
These signs and symptoms may be observed early in advanced or severe cases.
We remind you of the most common signs and symptoms of delayed mental development in children:
 Late pronunciation.

 Suffering from a speech difficulty.
 Difficulty remembering events.
 The Childs IQ is lower than 70.
 Difficulty in solving problems that may confront them.
 Curious to know things.
 Delay from other peers in some physical skills such as sitting, walking, and cradling.
 His inability to live an independent life results in his inability to take care of himself or communicate and interact with others.
 Slow learning life skills such as dressing, eating and practicing using the bathroom.

Some behavioral symptoms may appear in those children such as:

 Aggressive behavior.
 The Child’s dependence on others.
 stubbornness.
 Tendency to self-harm.
 Loss of control over his emotions.
 Depression and frustration in adolescence.
 Lack of appreciation or self-esteem.
 The Child’s withdrawal from social activities.
 Act with behavior to attract attention.
 Difficulty concentrating and paying attention.
 The Childs’s penchant for self-harm.

There are some physical symptoms that may appear in children with mental retardation such as:

 Unusual facial features.
 Large head or small head size.

 Abnormalities in the hands and feet.

Signs of severe mental development delay:

The child may suffer from severe mental retardation, here are the most important signs that the child may show in such cases:

 Seizures of epilepsy.
 Mood disorders such as autism or anxiety.
 The child suffers from hearing and vision problems.
 Problems with the Child’s motor skills.

Some other signs such as:

 lethargy.
 The prominence of the tongue.
 Growth delayed
 salivation
 Vomiting.

Diagnosis of mental retardation.

 The doctor interviews the parents with a detailed history of the disease and some observations about the infected child.
 The doctor also conducts some tests for the child to assess the degree of mental retardation.
 Many tests are performed on the child to determine their level of intelligence.
 which is evaluated by the score range as the average IQ test score is between 85 to 110.
 For children with mental retardation, the IQ test score is between 55 and 70.
 The IQ test score may be less than 55 in more severe cases.

 The child’s behavior is assessed through doctors for signs of disability and the assessment of adaptive behavior such as coping skills and the Child’s interaction with other people.
 Some medical examinations are carried out to ensure that there are any physical disorders that may lead to mental retardation

such as:

 Blood tests.
 Urine tests.
 EEG imaging.
 Fetal tests before pregnancy such as ultrasound and tuberculosis are recommended to look for problems that may be associated with mental retardation.

The diagnosis of mental retardation involves the presence of the following medical staff:
 Pediatric neurologist.
 Speech therapist.
 Psychologist.
 Social worker.
 Physiotherapist.

Treatment of mental retardation.

 The goal of the treatment strategy is to help the infected child reach the top of his or her abilities in education, social skills, and life.
 So far there is no medical treatment for mental retardation.
 The treatment strategy includes the child’s rehabilitation and acquisition of skills adapted to daily life.
 Treatment includes:
 Behavioral therapy: to reduce the socially unacceptable behavior of these children.
 Psychological counseling.

 Occupational therapy.
 Drug therapy and this in some cases.
 Integrated education: applied in case of mental retardation in recent periods.
 Children with mental retardation are taught with natural children in classes.
 But some skills are transferred to them separately, so it helps children with this disease to live with their peers.
 Children with mental retardation are so different from their peers that they need more individual attention than other children, as well as their need for love and support.

How to prevent mental retardation?

It is possible to prevent mental retardation or try to reduce it by preventing the causes that may cause it.
Here are some tips to avoid your Child’s mental retardation:

 Drinking alcohol by pregnant women may result in the feet us exposure to mental retardation; Therefore, pregnant women should not drink alcohol during pregnancy to avoid developing fetal alcohol syndrome.
 Take vitamins and get proper prenatal care while taking the necessary vaccinations to avoid infectious diseases during pregnancy.
 In families with a genetic disorder, genetic testing may be recommended before pregnancy.
 Some tests during pregnancy such as ultrasound and tuberculosis can be performed to look for problems associated with mental retardation.
 Place household chemicals such as lead or paint chips out of your child’s reach to help the child avoid lead poisoning.
 Refrain from child abuse and neglect.
 Although conducting these tests may identify the problem, they cannot correct it.

How to deal with a child with mental retardation?

There are some tips for parents and health care providers to deal with a child with mental retardation.

We remind you of the following:
1. Parents should learn everything they can about mental retardation, as all their information was better to deal with the child.
2. Reach out to other parents with children with delays as this can be a great source of emotional support and advice.
3. You should be patient, kind, and optimistic.
4. You can participate in sports, social, recreational, or other activities with your child.
5. Encourage activities that support responsibility, and independence such as dressing, feeding, housework, and bathing.

6. Parents should seek support from medical services or the community if they enquire about anything.
7. Be involved through minutes in contact with your Child’s teachers, where you will be able to follow their progress, and find out what the child is learning at school.
8. Encourage your Child’s autonomy and get your child to try new things they can do themselves.