The poor in Iodine (Cretinism)	The poor in Folates (Hydrocephalus - Spina Bifida)

Mental Retardation: a Symptom and a Syndrome
Fred J. Biasini, Ph.D. et al., Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
To appear in ... Comprehensive Textbook of Child and Adolescent Disorders. New York: Oxford University Press, in press.
Mental retardation is an idea, a condition, a syndrome, a symptom, and a source of pain and bewilderment to many families ... The objective of this chapter is to provide the reader with an overview of mental retardation, a developmental disability with a long and sometimes controversial history ...
A cornerstone event in the evolution of the care and treatment of the mentally retarded was the work of physician Jean-Marc-Gaspard Itard ... Hired in 1800 by the Director of the National Institutes for Deaf-Mutes in France to work with a boy named Victor. Victor, a young boy, had apparently lived his whole life in the woods of south central France and, after being captured and escaping several times, fled to the mountains of Aveyron. At about age 12, he was captured once again and sent to an orphanage, found to be deaf and mute, and moved to the Institute for Deaf-Mutes ... Itard developed a broad educational program for Victor to develop his senses, intellect, and emotions. After 5 years of training, Victor continued to have significant difficulties in language and social interaction though he acquired more skills and knowledge than many of Itard's contemporaries believed possible ... Itard had the opportunity to educate a group of children who were mentally retarded ... Supervised the work of Edouard Seguin ... Seguin developed a comprehensive approach to the education of children with mental retardation, known as the Physiological Method ... In 1850, Seguin moved to the United States and became a driving force in the education of individuals with mental retardation. In 1876, he founded what would become the American Association on Metal Retardation. Many of Seguin's techniques have been modified and are still in use today ... The newly developed test of intelligence developed by Binet was translated in 1908 by Henry Goddard, Director of Research at the training school in Vineland, New Jersey. Goddard published an American version of the test in 1910 ... Edgar Doll developed the Vineland Social Maturity Scale ... As a result of the disillusionment with residential treatment, advocacy groups, such as the National Association of Retarded Citizens and the President's Commission on Mental Retardation, were established in the 1950's through the 1970's. The Wyatt-Stickney federal court action, in the 1970's, was a landmark class action suit in Alabama establishing the right to treatment of individuals living in residential facilities. Purely custodial care was no longer acceptable. Concurrent with this case, the United States Congress passed the Education for the Handicapped Act in 1975, now titled the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This Act guaranteed the appropriate education of all children with mental retardation and developmental disabilities, from school age through 21 years of age ...
Over the next 30 years, the definitions of mental retardation focused on one of three aspects of development: the inability to learn to perform common acts, deficits or delays in social development/competence, or low IQ ... Edgar Doll who proposed that mental retardation referred to "social incompetence, due to mental subnormality, which has been developmentally arrested, which obtains at maturity, is of constitutional origin, and which is essentially incurable" ... As a result of the conflicting views and definitions of mental retardation, a growing number of labels used to refer to individuals with mental retardation ... American Association on Mental Deficiency (Retardation) proposed and adopted a three part definition in 1959. "Mental retardation refers to subaverage general intellectual functioning which originates in the developmental period and is associated with impairment in adaptive behavior" ... A five level classification scheme was introduced replacing the previous three level system ... borderline (IQ 67-83), mild (IQ 50-66), moderate (IQ 33-49), severe (16-32), and profound (IQ <16) were adopted ... The most recent change in the definition of mental retardation was adopted in 1992 by the American Association on Mental Retardation. "Mental retardation refers to substantial limitations in present functioning. It is characterized by significantly subaverage 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 safety, functional academics, leisure, and work. Mental retardation manifests before age 18" (American Association on Mental Retardation, 1992) ... This revision eliminated the severity level classification scheme ...
Following a review of the most recent epidemiological studies, McLaren and Bryson (1987) reported that the prevalence of mental retardation was approximately 1.25% based on total population screening ... Individual states report rates from 0.3% to 2.5% depending on the criteria used ...
... The American Association on Mental Retardation subdivides the disorders that may be associated with mental retardation into three general areas: prenatal causes, perinatal causes, and postnatal causes ...
In approximately 20 to 30% of the individuals identified with severe mental retardation the cause has been attributed to prenatal factors, such as chromosomal abnormality ... In 30 to 40% of cases, the cause is reported to be unknown. The etiology of mild mental retardation is much less delineated. Between 45 and 63% of the cases are attributed to unknown etiology ... largest number attributed to multiple factors ( prenatal ) ...
Associated disorders include: epilepsy, cerebral palsy, vision and hearing impairments, speech/language problems, and behavior problems ...

Introduction to Mental Retardation
The Arc, October 2004
An individual is considered to have mental retardation based on the following three criteria: intellectual functioning level (IQ) is below 70-75; significant limitations exist in two or more adaptive skill areas; and the condition is present from childhood (defined as age 18 or less) ( AAMR, 1992 ).
What are the adaptive skills essential for daily functioning?
How many people are affected by mental retardation?
How does mental retardation affect individuals?

ARC of the United States
The Arc
The national organization of and for people with mental retardation and related disabilities and their families ...

Developmental Disabilities - Mental Retardation
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
An estimated 12 of every 1,000 U.S school children have mental retardation ... Surveillance Activities ...

American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disability
For parents ...

Multiple Congenital Anomaly / Mental Retardation
United States: National Library of Medicine ( NLM ), December 12, 2006
A database of structured descriptions of congenital abnormalities associated with mental retardation.

Pediatrics in Review - American Academy of Pediatrics
For Professionals ...

The ARC
The Arc is the largest national community-based organization advocating for and with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and serving them and their families. We work tirelessly to uphold our vision that every individual and family living with I/DD in the United States has access to the information, advocacy, and skills they need to support their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.

Evaluation de l'enfant avec Retard mental
Swiss - Paediatrics
[French]
Avec une prévalence d'environ 3% dans la population générale, le retard mental représente un probléme médical aussi fréquent qu'important ... terme retard mental s'applique normalement à partir de l'âge de scolarité ... Un diagnostic bien fondé est indispensable pour répondre aux questions critiques des parents: Comment cela est-il arrivé? Une récidive est-elle possible? Y a-t-il un traitement? Quel est le pronostic? ...

Intellectual Disability - Mental Retardation - Resources in Spanish

Mental Retardation
aipd.it
[Italian]

Mental Retardation Prevention in Orphans
I.B.I.S. Birth Defects, February 18, 2002
[Ukrainian]
Fact Sheet in Ukrainian

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Last Updated: 2023/04/21

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