Katlyn Paslawski's List: Understanding Intellectual Disabilities

• Intellectual disability is a term used when a person has certain limitations in mental functioning and in skills such as communicating, taking care of him or herself, and social skills.
• may take longer to learn to speak, walk, and take care of their personal needs such as dressing or eating.
• They will learn, but it will take them longer.
• Genetic conditions
• Problems during pregnancy
• Problems at birth.
• Health problems
• An intellectual disability is not a disease
• Intellectual disability is the most common developmental disability.
• In fact, 1 in every 10 children who need special education have some form of intellectual disability. (4)
• • sit up, crawl, or walk later than other children;
   
  • learn to talk later, or have trouble speaking,
   
  • find it hard to remember things,
   
  • not understand how to pay for things,
   
  • have trouble understanding social rules,
   
  • have trouble seeing the consequences of their actions,
   
  • have trouble solving problems, and/or
   
  • have trouble thinking logically.
• the ability of a person’s brain to learn, think, solve problems, and make sense of the world
• whether the person has the skills he or she needs to live independently
• “…significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.”

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• both clinical assessment and standardized testing
• based on adaptive functioning

  rather than IQ test scores alone
• Intellectual disability involves impairments of general mental abilities that impact adaptive functioning

  in three domains, or areas
• not have a specific age requirement, an individual’s symptoms must

  begin during the developmental period and are diagnosed based on the severity of deficits in adaptive

  functioning.
• The assessment of intelligence across three domains (conceptual, social, and practical)
• often co-occurs with other mental conditions like

  depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum disorder.
• . In DSM-5, intellectual disability is considered to be approximately two standard devia

  -

  tions or more below the population, which equals an IQ score of about 70 or below.

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• • occurs in the developmental period and is characterised by sub-average intellectual functioning
     
  • IQ is assessed as 70 or under
     
  • deficits in at least 2 areas of adaptive behaviour, i.e. communication, self care, home living, social skills, self direction, leisure and work, learning
• “MILD” suggests a disability of little consequence. This is far from accurate.
• Many people with mild intellectual disability live independently but struggle with many everyday issues
• Many receive no assistance
• best assessed by a psychologist
• more than one disability
• does not view intellectual disability as an unchangeable characteristic of the individual. The effect of the disability or the capacity of the person is a function not only of the disability but also a function of their environment and the support they receive.
• simple messages
• give permission to say “I don’t get it”.
• one idea at a time
• expect an answer but be prepared to wait
• try not to interrupt.
• let the person tell their story
• breaks are essential

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• No two students with the same disability will experience its impact in the same way.
• These students span a very wide range of abilities. The continuum ranges from students who will require assistance with all areas of self-care throughout their lives, to students for whom the acquisition of academic skills and concepts is a reasonable and appropriate goal.
• • functional academic skills,  
  • communication skills,  
  • physical development and personal care,  
  • social interaction skills,  
  • community living skills,  
  • career development/work experience, and  
  • transition planning.
• specialist teachers and health professionals may be required
• Some students have disabilities in addition to their primary handicap. These may include physical disabilities, visual or hearing impairment, chronic health conditions and behavioural disorders

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• Intellectual disability occurs before age 18, and is characterized by delayed development in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior.
• This delayed development is reflected in low performance across academic and other skill areas, as well as significantly lower scores on measures of intelligence and adaptive behavior
• IQ below 70-75
• A standardized test of adaptive behavior is used to determine if the child has deficits in conceptual, social, and practical skills that are significantly below average.
• Delays in speech development
• Difficulties with learning concepts
• May seem to learn more slowly than do other students
• Difficulty with generalization of information to other material
• Delays in language may affect reading
• • May have difficulty comprehending and summarizing what has been read
   
  • Weak vocabulary (knowledge of words
• Difficulty bathing, dressing, grooming, and / or feeding one’s self
• Speech may be delayed, or there may be no speech at all
• Social skills may be poor (relationships with family and friends)
• May lack understanding of personal safety or community navigation issues
• • May need reminders about hygiene - washing hands, brushing teeth, etc.
   
  • Exhibits problem behaviors and some immaturity
• Displays some obsessive / compulsive behaviors
• Mild Intellectual Disability
• Can independently participate in most leisure activities within their communities
• May struggle in certain social situations
• May have a job suited to their skills
• Likely to develop reading, writing, and math skills at a basic level
• Moderate Intellectual Disability
• May learn to navigate their community and travel with support
• • Will need visual prompts such as daily schedules and pictures of routines
   
  • Will need support in their daily lives
• Severe or Profound Intellectual Disability
• May have little or no speech and will rely on gestures, facial expressions, and body language to communicate needs or feelings
• Will require extensive support with daily living activities throughout their life

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• to a number of disorders which may affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or nonverbal information. These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning,
• instructional interventions must be appropriately balanced
• full inclusion
• This implies that a number of students with LD miss out on broader learning opportunities, because they cannot easily and meaningfully access the same information as their peers.
• elementary students with LD can learn to the same levels as their peers
• schools can foster students’ engagement, and willingness to take risks and responsibility for learning.
• visual perception)
• (auditory perception).
• The following table provides some examples of how these cognitive impairments are manifested.
• oral language
• reading
• written language
• mathematics
• mild to severe
• implies intervention as soon as the disability becomes apparent
• It implies explicit teaching of specific skills, strategies and the use of tools that are recognized in the current research literature as being part of ‘best practices’ for this population
• influence the lives of children, adolescents, young adults and adults.
• “way in which they (learning disabilities) are expressed may vary over an individual’s lifetime, depending on the interaction between the demands of the environment and the individual’s strengths and needs.”
• Without this self-awareness and ability to appropriately self-advocate, persons with learning disabilities are less likely to participate in successful post-secondary studies.
• are due to genetic and/or neurobiological factors or injury that alters brain functioning in a manner,
• Table 3: Examples of manifestations of neurological basis of learning disabilities at different age levels
• Canadian educational systems must begin to deal with issues of inadequate elementary and secondary programs for students with learning disabilities.

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• Intellectual disability is a disability characterized by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning (reasoning, learning, problem solving) and in adaptive behavior, which covers a range of everyday social and practical skills. This disability originates before the age of 18
• before the age of 18.
• While intellectual disability is the preferred term
• Developmental disabilities are severe chronic disabilities that can be cognitive or physical or both.
• physical issues,
• Intellectual disability
• “cognitive”
• No. The evaluation and classification intellectual disability is a complex issue.
• intellectual functioning,
• adaptive behavior
• timing of exposure (prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal) to those factors.   
• (biomedical, social, behavioral, and educational
• to tailor supports for each individual,

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• A person with an intellectual disability may have difficulty learning and managing daily living skills. This is due to impaired cognitive (thought-related) processing before the age of 18 years, resulting in an IQ below 70. However, everyone is unique. How a person functions in their daily life depends on many factors, not just their IQ level.
• affects around two to three per cent of the population of Australia.
• difficulty learning and managing daily living skills
• different abilities and develop at different rates
• not a psychiatric or mental health problem
• • An IQ (intelligence quotient) below 70 (average IQ is 100) 
  • Significant difficulty with daily living skills, including looking after themselves, communicating and taking part in activities with others.
• • Learns and processes information more slowly than people without an intellectual disability 
  • Has difficulty with abstract concepts, such as money and time 
  • Has difficulty understanding the subtleties of interpersonal interactions.
• • Brain injury or infection before, during or after birth 
  • Growth or nutrition problems 
  • Faulty chromosomes and genes 
  • Babies born long before the expected birth date – also called extreme prematurity 
  • Health problems during childhood 
  • Drug use during pregnancy, including excessive alcohol intake and smoking 
  • Environmental deprivation 
  • Exposure to toxins 
  • A range of medical disorders
• Early detection of ‘high-risk’ pregnancies
• Early detection of health problems
• Providing an enriching and stimulating environment for childre
• • Personality 
  • Coping skills 
  • Other disabilities – for example, physical, social or sensory 
  • The amount of support offered by family, friends and the community 
  • What is demanded of them in different situations – for example, at home or at work.
• Can participate in and contribute to their family and their community
• May learn to read and write, with appropriate teaching. People who have an intellectual disability are likely to have difficulty with academic learning, and their reading and writing may be at a basic level.
• people to read information or complete written forms.
• May learn to recognise some words in context, such as common signs including ‘Ladies’, ‘Gents’ and ‘Exit’
• May develop independence in personal care, such as toilet hygiene, dressing and bathing. This will depend on opportunities to learn and practise these tasks, and whether or not the person has other disabilities, such as cerebral palsy.
• Is likely to have little or no speech, and will rely on gestures, facial expression and body language to communicate needs or feelings.
• Will require lifelong help with personal care tasks, communication, and accessing and participating in community facilities, services and activities.
• Make sure you have the person’s attention. Use their name, gain eye contact
• Ask the person how they would like to communicate if they do not use speech. This could include using communication aids or devices,
• Use appropriate language for the person and the situation
• Don’t rush. Allow the person the time to listen, process your words and respond. Waiting patiently conveys interest in and respect for what they will say.
• People with an intellectual disability often learn slowly, but can adapt to new situations and enjoy usual life experiences.
• Terms like ‘mental retardation’ are inappropriate.
• Always show respect for the person and communicate in ways that acknowledge the age of the person and the value of their contribution.

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• Support and services for people with intellect

  ual disability are best provided in

  segregated settings and in groups
• People with intellectual disability cannot /

  should not enjoy sexual relationships
• People with intellectual disability prefer

  to live and spend time with other people

  with intellectual disability
• People with intellectual disability are sick
• People with intellectual disability don’

  t notice what’s going on around them
• People with intellectual disability and pe

  ople with mental illness are the same
• People with intellectual disability are eternally child-like
• People with intellectual disability can not make decisions
• People with intellectual disability cannot learn

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• students with mild intellectual disabilities vary widely in their ability to do schoolwork and adjust to social situations in school and other locations
• mild intellectual disabilities tend to have more general, delayed development in academic, social, and adaptive skills
• low achievement across content and skill areas
• adaptive behavior
• lag significantly behind grade-level peers in developing academic skills
• delayed in learning to read and learning basic math
• mild intellectual disabilities develop basic literacy skills and functional mathematics skills.
• mild intellectual disabilities learn basic computational skills and functional arithmetic skills related to money, time, and measurement.
• students with intellectual disabilities are also often significantly delayed in general oral language skills.
• teachers need to provide these students with instruction to address their phonological weaknesses as well as a broader range of language skills

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