When any child has health, behavioral, developmental, or learning issues, it becomes an issue for the family and their support group. Many professionals help families through these times. When children are diagnosed with Mental retardation, normally the primary care physician is the first professional families consult, as they commonly are the same professionals that identify and label the child with mental retardation (Drew, 2003).

As the family begins on the process of deciding what actions to take in order to best fit their child, it is important for them to understand the definitions of mental retardation, disciplines for helping those with mental retardation, and a greater understanding of the risk factors associated with mental retardation. It is important to find services for those with mental retardation.

As a child starts through the process of being identified as a person with mental retardation, they will often encounter assessments. There are two basic types of assessments: norm-referenced assessment and criterion-referenced assessment (Drew, 2003). The norm-reference scale is commonly used for diagnosis through things, like the IQ test. This kind of test is based on a comparison of the individual’s score and their deviation from a standard or normal score (Drew, 2003). A child that is found to have an IQ between fifty-five and seventy-one is considered to have Mild Mental Retardation . This normally means that the child will need minimal supports and can eventually have an independent lifestyle. A child who scores between forty and fifty-four on their IQ is considered to have Moderate Mental Retardation and is trainable but will need supervision for the rest of their lives. A child who scores between twenty-five and thirty-nine on their IQ is considered to have Severe Mental Retardation and will need extensive support but training may be possible. A child who scores below twenty-five on their IQ is considered to have Profound Mental Retardation and will likely not be trainable and need constant support throughout their life. Although these tests do give us an idea of where a child’s intelligence might be, the label does not fully encompass the child’s abilities. Our society is a label filled society, but parents and providers need to look at the bigger picture to see the uniqueness of the child.

Another way to assess the child is through evaluating the child’s abilities and needs without the focus on referencing the standardized norm. Often professionals use criterion-reference assessments for a child once they start therapies and school. These tests are used to determine the child’s present level of abilities by looking at what skills they have accomplished and what skills they should next accomplish. This often helps the professionals decide where to start helping the child with Mental Retardation toward achieving their next steps (Drew, 2003). It is also important to consider the limitations of the child, the strengths that the child has, if the child’s assessment considered cultural and linguistic diversity, what supports the child needs, and how these supports can help the child to succeed. A child can truly benefit from finding a program that is right for them according to their needs and abilities.

References

Drew, C. J., & Hardman, M. L. (2003). Mental retardation: A life cycle approach (8^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.

According to the American Association on Mental Retardation (2004), it is important to consider the adaptive behavior components that the child processes. These can be broken into three components: conceptual, social, and practical . The conceptual component includes language, reading, writing skills, money concepts, and self-direction. The social component includes responsibility, self-esteem, gullibility, ability to follow rules and laws, and the ability to avoid victimization. The practical component includes the individual’s ability to perform daily living tasks, such as bathing, and the ability to have a future occupation.

There are lots of supports available for children with Mental Retardation. After considering their needs, it is important to find the support for them to fulfill their needs. Some things that might be necessary are considering the appropriate teacher and classroom environment. Throughout a child’s life, they may need other additional supports such as therapists, respite providers, financial support, employee assistance, in-home living assistance, befriending, health assistance, behavioral support, and extra help with community access and use (Drew, 2005).

With so many professional in the child’s life, it is imperative to look at the different techniques available to the child. According to Drew (2003), there are three different techniques: transdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and interdisciplinary. A transdisciplinary approach includes a primary therapist, usually the child’s therapist, which uses no specifically focused discipline, but instead focuses on the needs of the individual in-service (Drew, 2005). The lead therapists may consult other professionals in order to better support the child’s needs. A multidisciplinary approach includes a lot of different individuals that each work with the child on their specific discipline (Drew, 2003). For example, a child might receive occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy, but these professionals do not exchange information to work as a team but instead each focuses on their specific therapy goals. An interdisciplinary approach includes lots of providers that share information with one another, but each focus on their own discipline. The same speech, occupational, and physical therapists, under interdisciplinary approach, can use more overlap to as a team address important issues to the family and perhaps sooner meet the goals set by the family for the child. Many believe that collaboration is best as it can help to achieve the child’s ideal goals. Normally the goals are set by the family in support by the professionals during either an IFSP’s, individual family service plan, an IEP’s, individual education plans, and/or an ISP’s, individual service plans. In order to reach collaboration, it is important for providers to attend these meetings. Some other options for collaboration include technological approaches. No matter the approach that the providers take, it is most important that they are making the effort to connect to one another.

Research has found that predominantly more children with disabilities are born into poverty levels (Drew, 2005). This does not mean that children with mental retardation are not found in every socioeconomic class as there is also a genetic link to Mental Retardation, but there is a link with poor-health care and poverty to higher rates of developmental disability (Drew, 2003). This can help to explain why so many children with disabilities are from culturally different backgrounds. It has also been speculated that perhaps the social norm of IQ tests and other norm-referenced assessments do not give adequate allowance on the diversity of cultures behavioral differences and language barriers (Drew, 2003). It is important for professionals to evaluate the best way to service a family. They should think about the language of the family to give the child a fair assessment and to make sure that the family fully understands the child’s education and health. It is also important that the professionals consider the cultural views of the family on school, disabilities, health, and parent-teacher interaction. Professionals should also make sure that the family has transportation or is willing to meet at a different location.

For professionals, families, and children, there are many options and considerations to take into account once a child is diagnosed with Mental Retardation. It is important that everyone keep the family and child’s best interest in mind, so that the child can succeed in reaching their goals and fulfilling their individual potential.

References

American Association on Mental Retardation. (2004). Definitions of mental retardation. Retrieved November 1, 2005, from http://www.aamr.org/Policies/faq_mental_retardation.shtml

Drew, C. J., & Hardman, M. L. (2003). Mental retardation: A life cycle approach (8^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.