Tuesday 21 February 2012

What are Mild Intellectual Disabilities?


Definition
Mild Intellectual Disabilities (MIDs) are classified as being a high incidence exceptionality and arises prior to the age of 18 (Hutchinson & Martin, 2011). MIDs are characterized as a learning disorder where an individual may be limited in their intellectual abilities and/or adaptive behaviour.

Intellectual abilities encompasses skills like “reasoning, planning, solving problems, thinking abstractly, comprehending complex ideas, learning quickly and learning from experience” (American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 2011). An IQ or intelligence quotient test are used to score individuals. If an individual has a score ranging from 71 to 79, the individual may have a MID (Lacène & Reinhardt 2009). Individuals may learn and process information slower than other people who do not have a MID.

Adaptive behaviours are learned “conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills” which individuals use in day-to-day life (Hutchinson & Martin, 2011, p.76).

  • Conceptual skills include “language, reading and writing, and money, time, and number concepts”
  • Social skills include “interpersonal skills, social responsibility, self-esteem, gullibility, naïveté, following rules/obeying laws, actively avoiding being victimized, and social problem solving”
  • Practical adaptive skills include “activities of daily living, occupational skills, use of money, safety, health care, travel/transportation, schedules/routines, and use of the telephone”
(American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 2011)

The Ontario Ministry of Education (2001) describes MIDs as “a learning disorder characterized by:

a) An ability to profit educationally within a regular class with the aid of considerable curriculum modification and supportive service;

b) An inability to profit educationally within a regular class because of slow intellectual development;

c) A potential for academic learning, independent social adjustment, and economic self-support.” (p. A20)

Causes
Intellectual disabilities may be caused by different reasons some include:

Genetic problems that occur during development: The genetic material from the parents in the form of the sperm or egg cell may have undergone abnormal cell division or abnormal cell division may occur after the formation of the zygote/embryo and thus leads to errors in the genetic makeup of an individual. An example of a genetic condition where individuals have extra genetic material on a particular chromosome is called Down syndrome.

Problems that occur during pregnancy: The fetus may not be able to develop within the mother’s womb due to abnormal cell division. Mother’s who may drink alcohol or drugs may put their child at risk for MIDs since those substances can affect a developing fetus's brain, organs and body development. Also, infections during pregnancy may impact fetal development such as rubella or the measles.

Problems that occur during birth: If the baby experiences oxygen deprivation during labour or delivery can have a serious impact on brain functioning.

Problems that occur during childhood: “Diseases like whooping cough, the measles, or meningitis can cause intellectual disabilities. They can also be caused by extreme malnutrition (not eating right), not getting enough medical care, or by being exposed to poisons like lead or mercury”.

(American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 2011)

Incidence
Figure 1. Ontario statistics for publicly funded schools where students were identified with the mild intellectual disabilities outlined by the IPRC (Identification, Placement, and Review Committee) process. For the 2006-07 school year, the total number of students with exceptionalities were 198 385 which was assumed for the 2005-06 school year as well (Hutchinson & Martin, 2011). For the 2009-10 school year, 192 530 students were identified with exceptionalities which was assumed for the 2008-09 school year as well (Special Education Policy & Programs Branch, 2011).
Figure 1 shows a gradual decline in the number of students identified with MIDs in publicly  funded Ontario schools throughout the progression of the school years.

Prevalence
Currently, in Ontario for the school year 2009-10 a total of 192 530 students are identified with exceptionalities and of those students, 10.5% or 20 216 students are identified with MIDs (Special Education Policy & Programs Branch, 2011).

Statistics Canada found that 0.7% of the total population in 2006 were identified as having intellectual disabilities according to the Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) (Crawford, 2008). 

For the age group of 0-14 year olds, 1% of the total population had intellectual disabilities, for 5-14 year olds it was 1.4% and for 15 years and older it was 0.5%. The age group of 5 to 14 year olds is the highest percentage, which is most likely due to the fact that the MIDs are more identifiable once children begin school. Note that the statistics are not solely based on MIDs rather include developmental disabilities like autism also.



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References 

American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. (2011). FAQ on
the AAIDD Definition on Intellectual Disability. Retrieved from http://www.aaidd.org/intellectualdisabilitybook/content_7473.cfm?navID=366.
Crawford, Cameron. (2008). No Place Like Home: A Report on the Housing Needs of
People with Intellectual Disabilities. Retrieved from http://www.communitylivingbc.ca/wp-content/uploads/NoPlaceLikeHome.pdf.
Hutchinson, N. L., & Martin, A. K. (2011). Inclusive Classroom in Ontario Schools.
Toronto, ON: Pearson Canada Inc.
Lacène, K., & Reinhardt, K. (2009). Mild Intellectual Disabilities (MID). Retrieved from
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2001). Special Education: A Guide for Educators.
Retrieved from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/guide/specedhandbooke.pdf.
Special Education Policy & Programs Branch. (2011). Building Futures: A Day of
Learning & Resources For Teacher Candidates [Pamphlet]. Ontario, CAN: Ontario Ministry of Education.