Mental Retardation

Mental retardation 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. These limitations will cause a child to learn and develop more slowly than a typical child. Children with this disability may take longer to learn to speak, walk, and take care of their personal needs such as dressing or eating. It is likely that they will to have trouble learning in school, but they will learn. It just takes them more time and effort than other children. There may also be some things they cannot learn. Mental retardation is not a disease; you can't catch it from anyone. It is also not a type of mental illness, like depression. There is no cure for mental retardation. However, most children with mental retardation can learn to do many things. Acoording to statistics, about 87 percent of people with mental retardation will only be a little slower than average in learning new information and skills. When they are children, their limitations may not be obvious. They may not even be diagnosed as having mental retardation until they get to school. As they become adults, many people with mild retardation can live independently. Other people may not even consider them as having mental retardation.

Doctors have found many causes of mental retardation, but most common are: Genetic conditions which is sometimes caused by abnormal genes inherited from parents, errors when genes combine, or other reasons. Problems during pregnancy in which mental retardation can result when the baby does not develop inside the mother properly. For example, When an expecting woman drinks alcohol or gets an infection like rubella during pregnancy can give birth to a baby with this disability. Problems at birth may also cause this -- if a baby has problems during labor and birth, such as not getting enough oxygen, he or she may have mental retardation.

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