Mental Retardation is a term that describes a person who has certain limitations in mental functioning including communication, taking care of personal needs, and social skills. These symptoms prevent people from learning new skills as quickly and many people affected by mental retardation have more trouble in school. Mental Retardation can be caused by genetic conditions, problems during pregnancy, problems at birth, and health problems. There is no cure for mental retardation, but people can live productive lives even if they are affected by this condition.
I learned many new things about mental retardation from reading an article found at http://old.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs8txt.htm. This website gave me information on how mental retardation is diagnosed, the signs of mental retardation, and how to effectively teach students affected with mental retardation.
According the the article, mental retardation is diagnosed based on two factors. The first one is the ability of the person’s brain to think, solve problems, and make sense of the world through IQ tests. Any score of 75 or below on an IQ test flags the person as having mental retardation. The second factor is based on whether the person can function properly and manage themselves with everyday living tasks and become independent called adaptive functioning. In this factor professionals look at the individuals daily living skills, communication skills, and social skills compared to others of the same age.
If a person is diagnosed with mental retardation under IDEA’s criteria they go through a process of finding their strengths and weaknesses and assess how much support the individual will need. Mental retardation affects 3 out of every 100 children in the United States and 1 out of every 10 in special education is diagnosed as being mentally retarded.
There are several signs that demonstrate mental retardation in children that can be picked up on after observing the child. The first sign is if the child sits up, crawls, and walks later than most children. The second sign is is they learn to talk later than most children and have difficulty speaking. The third sign is not being able to remember things and have trouble understanding social rules. They have trouble seeing the consequences of their actions, and they don’t understand how to pay for things. Many times they also have trouble solving problems or thinking logically. An interesting fact that I found about mental retardation is that 87 percent of those diagnosed are only a little slower than average in learning new skills and information. Many people with mild mental retardation can live independently.
Students who suffer from mental retardation will need individualized support when they go off to school. When the child is diagnosed with the condition school staff and their parents and other professionals meet to discuss setting up an IEP or Individualized Education Program for the student. This helps describe the child’s unique needs and the services that need to be provided for those specific needs through special education.
Many times students with mental retardation need help with adaptive skills that are basically skills needed for living. These may include communicating with others, taking care of personal needs, home living, social skills, reading, writing, basic math, and skills that will help them in the workplace.
In this article there were several tips for teachers on how to handle students with mental retardation. Teachers should learn as much as they can about mental retardation through different organizations. In addition, teachers need to find out what the students strengths and weaknesses are and create opportunities for them to succeed. Teachers should ask for a copy of the student’s IEP where the student’s educational goals are listed and the support services that they may need. Teachers should talk to specialists about how to effectively teach to the student and ways to adapt the curriculum. Whenever teachers explain materials they should be concrete as possible and demonstrate what you want to get done rather than just verbal directions. Another helpful hint is to break tasks into smaller sections and do steps one at a time while providing positive feedback. Try to incorporate life skills into your classroom and involve the student in activities and clubs. The final helpful hint is to work directly with the parents and other school personnel to create a program specifically tailored to each individual student. Constantly monitor their progress and plan accordingly.
This website helped me better understand the condition of mental retardation, and gave me hints on how to effectively teach students who may be suffering from this condition. I now feel confident that I can provide an atmosphere in my classroom that would benefit all of my students including those who may be suffering from mental retardation. It is important to learn about this condition because at some point in your teaching career you will come across a student with this disability and it is your responsibility to set them up for success!