Intellectual disability is a delay in the cognitive development of some children, which can be seen by learning difficulties, little interaction with other people and the inability to carry out simple activities appropriate for their age.
Intellectual disability, also known as ID, is a developmental disorder that affects approximately 2 to 3% of children and can occur due to various situations, from complications during pregnancy or childbirth, to genetic changes, such as Down Syndrome and Fragile X Syndrome, for example.
This disorder can be noticed by parents or teachers at school, however, treatment must be carried out by a multidisciplinary team with the aim of stimulating all cognitive functions, favoring the learning process and relationships with other people. Therefore, it is important that the child has direct and constant monitoring by a pediatrician, speech therapist, pedagogue and psychotherapist, for example.
Main features
The main characteristics of intellectual disability are:
- Difficulty in learning and understanding;
- Difficulty adapting to any environment;
- Lack of interest in day-to-day activities;
- Isolation from family, colleagues or teacher, for example;
- Difficulty with coordination and concentration.
Furthermore, it is possible that the child will have changes in appetite, be excessively afraid and may not be able to carry out activities that they were previously able to do.
It is possible to identify intellectual disability by observing the child’s daily behavior. Normally, they do not show the same behavior as other children of the same age, and it is always necessary for an adult or an older child to be nearby to help them perform some action, for example.
Possible causes
The most common cause of intellectual disability is genetic alterations, such as Down, fragile-X, Prader-Willi, Angelman and Williams syndrome, for example. All of these syndromes occur due to mutations in DNA, which can result, among other symptoms, in intellectual disability. Other possible causes of intellectual disability are:
- Prenatal complicationswhich are those that occur during pregnancy, such as fetal malformation, gestational diabetes, medication use, smoking, alcoholism, drug use and infections, such as syphilis, rubella and toxoplasmosis;
- Perinatal complicationswhich occur from the beginning of labor until the first month of the baby’s life, such as decreased oxygen supply to the brain, malnutrition, prematurity, low birth weight and severe jaundice of the newborn;
- Severe malnutrition and dehydrationwhich can occur until the end of adolescence and lead to intellectual disability;
- Poisoning or intoxication by medicines or heavy metals;
- Infections during childhood that can lead to neuronal impairment, decreasing cognitive capacity, such as meningitis, for example;
- Situations that reduce the supply of oxygen to the brainwhich can result in intellectual disability.
In addition to these causes, intellectual disability can result from inborn errors of metabolism, which are genetic changes that can occur in the child’s metabolism and lead to the development of some diseases, such as congenital hypothyroidism and phenylketonuria.
How the treatment is carried out
If a diagnosis of intellectual disability is made, it is important that the child’s cognitive and intellectual abilities are frequently stimulated, and monitoring by a multidisciplinary team is important.
At school, for example, it is important that teachers understand the student’s need for difficulty and create a specific study plan for the child. Furthermore, it is important to keep it integrated and encourage contact and interaction with other people, which can be done through board games, puzzles and mime, for example. This activity, in addition to promoting social contact, allows the child to be more concentrated, which makes them learn a little faster.
It is also important that the teacher respects the child’s learning pace, returning to easier subjects or activities if necessary. During the process of stimulating learning, it is interesting for the teacher to identify how the child best assimilates information and content, whether through visual or auditory stimuli, for example, making it possible to establish an education plan based on the best response. of child.
