Children with Moderate Intellect Disorders - Essay Example

Introduction There is a notable trend with the mentally retarded children in most of the public or social areas. When we look at the mentally retarded children in schools, in the streets, inside parks and even inside their very homes especially in the presence of a new person e.g. a visitor, the mentally retarded children are always found in isolation or in the company of the other mentally retarded children (Meares 2000p14). This phenomenon leads to the question; do the mentally retarded children have social skills at all A number of researches have been conducted on regarding this issue and have provides interesting results as the following essay indicates. Mental retardation can be defined as the disability associated with development that appears in the initial stages of childhood especially in children under the age of 18 years (Lader 2001p101). It is characterized by an intellectual level that appears far below the limitations in the overall daily living skills- this can be measured by standardized examinations that determine the reasoning ability in relation to the mental age (LeCroy 2002p17). In this case then we find that the children with mental retardation will experience problems with their adaptive skills such as the ability to make and comprehend language, the utilization of the community resources, social skills, functional academic skills, skills associated with home living, issues of self direction and self care to mention but a few of the problems experienced by these children (Martens 1999p49). Main body Children with mental retardation often display some symptoms which include low scores of IQ, aggression, disorders with the moods, injury to one self and the limited adaptive skills. There are a number of courses that are associated with the retardation of the mind (Hunter 2007). They include; genetics inherited from parents. It is estimated that approximately 5% of mental retardation cases are caused by hereditary factors. (Hargie et al. 2003p97). The inheritance of a fragile X chromosome is the most common cause associated with inherited mental retardation. Other genetic factors may include defects of a single gene like phenylketonuria, errors associated with metabolism if not detected and treated early in life, genetic mutation e.t.c. issues associated with the prenatal conditions also cause mental retardation (Lawrence et al. 2001p17). The excessive intake of alcohol by a mother in her pregnancy leads to the birth of an infant with fetal alcohol syndrome (Hersen 2000p217). Drug abuse as well as smoking of cigarettes during pregnancy is also associated with the mental retardation (Morrow 2003p392). Illness during pregnancy e.g. rubella, disorders of the glandular cells and toxoplasmosis have been known to cause mental retardation (Mathews 2001). High blood pressure may also cause a reduced energy supply to the fetus causing damage to the brain (Allen 2001p68). Childhood illnesses like measles, inflammation of the brain and Hib disease, as well as injuries to the nervous system may also cause mental retardation. Environmental factors like poor nutrition, poor medical care, and poor conditions of living are some of the other causes of mental retardation (Jeffrey 2003p138). Children with mental moderate intellect disorders have IQ scores of 35-55 (Ishtiaq 2000p48). With moderate supervision, these children can carry out tasks and even take care of themselves (Meares 2000p14). They manage to acquire skills of communication during their childhood and they manage to live and even function with much success within the societies they are found in as long as they are supervised (Zinkin 2001p68). Annette Marie La Greca, in Kumar 2002, described children with learning disabilities as of average while some are of above average intelligence but who nevertheless display widely scattered levels of skills that pertain to their academia (Kumar 2002p28). From Greca's observation, it is quite clear that the children with intellect disorders of a moderate nature really have managed to achieve as much as their counter parts who are normal (LeCroy 2003p41). Greca identifies the problem with moderate intellectual disorders as having widely scattered levels of their academic skills. This then suggests that if only these children could have a way of condensing their academic skills, they could perform just as good as their normal counterparts (Davochny and Silverman 2001p17). The social capacity of the children with moderate intellectual nature can be identified in their tendency to associate with the other children who have mental issues as themselves. These children face a great degree of social discrimination from the children who are normal (Beighton 2007p372). The normal children really don't seem to enjoy associating with these children and some go to greater extremes of calling these mentally challenged children demeaning or disheartening names thus putting them off (Kathryn 2005p14). The tendency of the mentally challenged children to associate with the other mentally handicapped children shows they do have the social tendency only perhaps they are never offered the chance to display it (Miller 2005p144). This is a great achievement they display and it suggests that they can achieve as much as their normal counterparts (Apter 2001p41). A research conducted by Bryan in the year 1976 where he followed a group of both fourth and fifth grade students for a period of 12 months indicated that the learning disabled children who had displayed low social acceptance maintained this trend a year later though the composition of the class had changed by approximately 75% since his study commenced (Blodgett 2001p34). This led him to conclude that these children could not change their antisocial nature even when offered a second chance with new mates (Fagen and Hewitt 2006p121). However a deliberate effort at making these intellectually challenged children to associate with the rest through an organized seminar and great encouragement did yield great fruits as these children started initiating talks with the other children; ceased from asking closed questions and could be seen laughing as loud as the other children and engaging in extracurricular activities they could not engage in before (Milunsky 2007p344). This experiment clearly shows the great successes that the children with moderate mental capabilities can achieve socially when given the necessary incentives (Atkins 1988). Focusing on social intervention to children who have moderate mental and intellectual capabilities really is desirable and appropriate (Marylyn 2007p14). Practices of mainstreaming may assist in bringing the learning disabled and the able children together and help to reduce the social stigma the children get (Varma 2004p36). Conclusion Children who are of a moderate nature in intellect disorders have the capacity to make better their place in their social life if we can only get the time and the know how of dealing with their conditions (Jeffrey 2003p138). These children only need a little more attention and they are good to go just like their normal counter part (Kathryn 2005p23). It is true though that the attention of a supervisor is required to help them be the best they really can. References Apter, B. 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