Mild Cognitive Disability or Intellectual Disability

            Intellectual Disability or a Mild Cognitive Disability is as a statement about an individual's present level of functioning, with two primary features:

•           Limitations in intelligence

•           Limitations in adaptive behavior

            The American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) 2002, defines an intellectual disability as…

“Intellectual disability is a disability characterized by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills.”

This disability is normally formed before the age of 18. Along with orinating before age 18, there are two other factors to the diagnosis of an intellectual disability. First, the individual has an IQ of approximately of 70 or lower. Secondly, the individual has deficits and fall backs in adaptive behavior.  

Those who are identified as having a mild intellectual disability typically do not have any specific physical or medical cause for the limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior. Heredity and early environmental factors are common causes for one to have a mild intellectual disability.  High risk behaviors partaken by the mother while pregnant with a child may result in that child having an intellectual disability. An example of this would be fetal alcohol syndrome.

People with intellectual disabilities have more trouble with learning than the typical person. Specific cognitive deficits often exist in such areas as memory, attention, or language. Brain damage is more likely with individuals with severe intellectual disabilities, which in turn is associated with such physical disabilities as cerebral palsy and seizure disorders (epilepsy) and their associated physical characteristics. Downs Syndrome, Fragile X, and metabolic disorder are all also intellectual disabilties caused by the chromosomal disorders.

http://www.safmh.org.za/disability.htm

The spectrum of intellectual disabilities is wide and is based of four levels of severity. To clinically determine what level an individual falls on within the spectrum is largely based on IQ score.

•           Mild intellectual disability, IQ scores from 70 to 55/50

•           Moderate intellectual disability, IQ scores from 55/50 to 40/35

•           Severe Intellectual disability, IQ scores from 40/35 to 25/20

•           Profound intellectual disability, IQ scores below 25/20

In school settings, terms such as "severe disabilities" or "profound disabilities" are more commonly found.

Free appropriate public education through an individualized education program (IEP) is available to every child, age 3 through 21, with an intellectual disability through entitlement by IDEA. Often students diagnosed with intellectual disabilities receive special education services while still having access to the general education curriculum. This allows them to interact with and learn from and alongside typical classmates. This is made possible through accommodations and modifications to the instruction given by the teacher and the classroom's curriculum. Special attention should be given to the development reading and mathematics skills that are used frequently in everyday life.

              In secondary education settings, the curriculum for students with intellectual disabilities often turns importance to career preparation and life skills emphasis. Many individuals with intellectual disabilities end up working in an inclusive work setting after secondary school. This work is often done alongside typical workers with supports provided there as needed.

 

Infromatio from: ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Edcucation. ERIC Digests are in the public domain and may be freely reproduced and disseminated, but please acknowledge your source. This publication was prepared with funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under contract no. ED-99-CO-0026. The opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI or the Department of Education.