Mental Retardation and Child Development

The difference between sequence of development and rate of development is that a sequence of development is the order in which the development of a child will occur. The rate of development is in which speed/ time this development would happen. Child development experts have carried out a lot of research on young children to work out what most children can do at different ages and the rate at which they grow. From this research, milestones have been identified. A ‘milestone of development’ refers to the age at which most children should have reached a certain stage of development. We think about stages and sequences of development in stages:

The ABAS II is a comprehensive measure that assesses an individual’s behavior scale. It was developed by Patti Harrison and Thomas Oakland based on information gathered in a matter of eight years. The standardization has samples for the Parent/Primary Caregiver and Teacher/Daycare Provider Forms for children ages birth to five years comprised 2,100 individuals. The standardization samples for the Parent and Teacher Forms, and Adult Form is comprised of 5,270 individuals that represent the U.S. population. (Harrison & Oakland, 2008) ABAS-II was designed to assess how a person responds to daily demands, and to determine eligibility for services. The ABAS-II has new features in its test that encompass infant-pre-school rating forms, and it has an expanded structure that focuses on the current American Association of Mental Retardation (AAMR). (Sattler, 2002)

Disability can affect the development pattern. For example, a child that may not be able to use their legs will not be able to start crawling/walking, therefore they are unable to fully develop in that area.

Some of these include but are not limited to any sort of confusion in any new experiences or encounters, and children often display shorter attention spans. Often times they display limited skills in communicating with others (Siskin). The IQ categorization for the severity of the learning disabilities is broken up into four parts, with each categorization increasing in the severity of the symptoms presented. The first is Mild which is represented at levels between 50 and 70. The second is Moderate being represented at 35-55. The next is Severe at 20-40. The final categorization is Profound at levels 20 and below

Vignette 1 for Developmental Delay: Demetrius is a 41 month old boy. He is an only child and lives with both parents who remain married to date. Demetrius currently resides in a split-level home, with 6 steps leading to the upper level and 9 steps leading to the lower level. His family has limited financial resources, no close relatives that live within a 1-hour driving distance, and few local community contacts. Demetrius has recently been referred to a nearby Children’s Treatment Centre to address functional issues stemming from developmental delays in multiple domains: gross and fine motor, functional emotional, and communication and language. Demetrius was diagnosed with global developmental delay at 38 months of age and is currently being

People with developmental disability include people who have intellectual impairment, learning disability, pervasive developmental disorder, autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and spina bifida. Common to all form of DD is an extended delay in development of one or more adaptive areas such as self-care, receptive and expressive language, mobility, self-direction, capacity for independent living, and economic sufficiency; whereas in most cases, not all areas of functioning are delayed.

In fact, given the increasing societal pressure on performance, even late bloomers are subject to

Though his has a multicultural approach with its emphasis on individualism, this makes it difficult to test. In addition, the theory fails to address how development occurs. This is where Piaget’s theory comes in. Piaget’s theory has been widely accepted by developmental theorists as it focuses on how development occurs through childhood and into adolescents. Despite having the potential for yielding based results, his theory has been widely accepted by developmental theorist (Belsky, 2016). Unlike Erikson’s theory, Piaget’s theory is not culturally friendly, in that it is near impossible to apply this theory to children who have intellectual disabilities or those who missed developmental milestones as it can underestimate their cognitive ability.

Data taken from the 1997-2008 National Health Interview Surveys of US showed that 1 out of every 6 children had developmental disabilities (Boyle et al, 2011). These disabilities were tabulated as including autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other forms of developmental delay. According to the survey, these disabilities increased and now require more health and education interventions. Children aged 3-17 years old participated in the survey. Parent-respondents reported their children's diagnoses as including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, autism, seizures, stuttering or stammering, hearing loss, blindness, learning disorders and other forms of developmental delay. These disabilities were much more prevalent in boys than in girls. They were lowest among Hispanic children as compared with non-Hispanic white and black children. Low income and public health insurance were associated with the prevalence. The rate of these disabilities increased from 12.84% to 15.94% in the last 13 years. Autism, ADHD and other developmental delays increased in all socio-demographic sub-groups, except for autism among non-Hispanic black children. The survey called for additional research on the influence of changing risk factors and changes in the acceptance and the benefits of early services (Boyle et al).

As a child being a part of the welfare system can be challenging and have negative results on mental and physical health. Often society mistake “the system’s kids” to be delinquents who are consistently in trouble, have a hard time listening or following instructions from an authority figure, or children who cannot behave themselves. Many do not realize that most of these problems are psychological and can stem from the events at home. America’s population of child maltreatment victims, seventy-five percent are under the age of 12, these children are also at a higher risk for exhibiting delinquent behavior (Whitted & al, 2012). Abuse and neglect are two major risk factors that may lead a child to develop long lasting mental health impairments such as depression, low self-esteem and difficulties maintaining relationships in adulthood.

Mental retardation is one of the few disorders that is usually present at birth and persists throughout life" (Hansell & Damour, 2005, p.441).

Different disabilities may affect development in different ways. However, with support from teachers and parents, these affects can be minimalised. A learning disability such as Dyslexia (a common type of learning difficulty that can cause problems with reading, writing and spelling) could lead to a child becoming frustrated which could further lead to behavioural issues. Moreover, without assistance, Dyslexia will allow for the child to become unmotivated and prove to be a hindrance to them as they look to strive in later life. Physical disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy (a neurological condition that effects movement and coordination) will affect development as children will have difficulties communicating, eating and drinking and with their

Most recent studies have shown that between 1-3 percent of Americans have intellectual disabilities. Many factors are involved with the cause of intellectual disabilities such as physical, genetic and social. A few common genetic conditions are Down Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome and Prader-Will Syndrome. It is important for maternal mothers to understand that their health is critical to a child's intellectual development and for them to recognize pre & postnatal factors. Maternal Mothers who are exposed to radiation, chronic alcoholism, and severe emotional stress during pregnancy could all be risk factors for intellectual disability. It is critical that parents recognize any intellectual delays in cognitive development at an early onset. Intervention is more effective at an earlier stage of development manly ages 3-4 when child is beginning cognitive and developmental growth. Based on the DSM 5 intellectual disability is a disorder with onset during the developmental period that includes both intellectual and adaptive functioning deficits in conceptual, social, and practical domains. Intellectual disabilities is not based on IQ, but on extensiveness of needed support services.

The first step in any research is to accurately define the population of interest. Intellectual Disability (ID) has been called by many different terms: mental retardation, learning disability, mental handicap, and developmentally delayed. Generally, these terms are accepted as interchangeable (Schalock, Luckasson & Shogren, 2007). However, over time some of the characteristics required to receive a diagnosis of ID has changed. In the recent past, the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Metal Disorders Text Revised (DSM IV TR) identified three criteria necessary to be diagnosed with ID. This included: impairments of intellectual functioning (IQ<70) are not necessarily excluded from the diagnosis. By deemphasized the importance of low IQ the as a defining feature of ID the diagnosis expanded its definition to include individual assessed with borderline intelligence and above (fact sheet reference).

There are two different models when looking at the concept of disabilities. The first one being a biomedical