Group 5

• Lauren Potter is an American actress, advocate, and producer, known for her character 'Becky Jackson' in Glee. Despite the limitations and barriers caused by Down syndrome, she had proven herself to be a woman of character and strength, earning a lot of awards and nominations for her talent in dancing, acting, and singing. Lauren has given her support to other people with disabilities, taking up roles in helping them access needs and newfound opportunities.
• Lauren is one of the well-known persons with an intellectual disability, but it is important to remember that the characteristics of their disability does not represent the diverse spectrum of conditions under intellectual disability. Depending on the severity of their disability, the skills and needs of a person with an intellectual disability will vary compared to others.
• Before the legislation for persons with disabilities (IDEA and in the Philippines, R.A. No. 10533), most educational institutions were not adept in identifying and providing specialized needs of children with intellectual abilities. Many children with disabilities that showed physical and developmental disabilities remained neglected, as their cognitive and social differences were attributed to immaturity.
• With the passage of inclusive education, educators now recognize the need for specialized services to support a child's development in the natural settings of school, neighborhood, and home.
• Intellectual disability (ID)


  Neurodevelopmental conditions that affect cognitive and adaptive functioning of a person
• Intellectual functioning


  An individual's ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, and learn from experience
• Adaptive behavior


  A collection of conceptual, social, and practical skills that have been learned by people to function in their everyday lives
• Areas of adaptive functioning


  • Conceptual (language, reading, writing, math, reasoning, knowledge, memory)
  • Social (empathy, social judgment, communication skills, the ability to follow rules and the ability to make and keep friendships)
  • Practical (independence in areas such as personal care, job responsibilities, managing money, recreation, and organizing school and work tasks)
• Adaptive skills


  Measured by adaptive behavior scales, which measure the individual's ability to take care of personal needs and to relate appropriately to others in social situations
• Environment and adaptive functioning


  A person's participation and interaction within the environment are indicators of adaptive functioning. The more they engage in their community, the more likely that an "adaptive fit" will develop between the person and their environment.
• Role of physical and mental health to adaptive functioning


  The functioning level of people with intellectual disabilities is significantly affected by the effects of their physical and mental health. Others have a variety of health conditions that compound and restrict activities and social participation, which could affect their mental health. People with intellectual disabilities have a 50 percent higher rate of psychiatric disorders than the general population.
• Age of onset


  Intellectual disabilities must originate before the age of 18, as they belong to a family of conditions referred to as developmental disabilities
• Criteria on putting the definition of intellectual disabilities into practice


  • Limitations in a person's present functioning must be considered within the context of community environments typical of the individual's age, peers, and culture
  • Valid assessment considers cultural and linguistic diversity as well as differences in communication, sensory, motor, and behavioral factors
  • Within an individual, limitations often coexist with strengths
  • An important purpose of describing limitations is to develop a profile of needed supports
  • With appropriate personalized supports over a sustained period, the life functioning of the person with intellectual disabilities generally will improve
• Classifications of intellectual disabilities by severity

  • Mild intellectual disabilities (slower in all areas of conceptual development and social and daily living skills, can learn practical life skills, and can function in ordinary life with minimal support)
  • Moderate intellectual disabilities (similar to mild, can take care of themselves and learn basic skills related to safety and health, but still need moderate support)
  • Severe intellectual disabilities (major delays in development, can understand speech but have limited communication skills, often need family support and live in a supervised setting)
  • Profound intellectual disability (cannot live independently, require close supervision and help with self-care activities, have very limited ability to communicate and often have physical limitations)
• Classifications of intellectual disabilities by needed support


  • Intermittent (supports provided on an "as-needed basis", can vary in intensity)
  • Limited (supports characterized by consistency, time required may be limited but need is not intermittent)
  • Extensive (supports characterized by regular involvement in at least some environments, not time-limited)
  • Pervasive (supports must be constant and of high intensity, provided across multiple environments and may be life-sustaining)
• Characteristics common to children and youth with intellectual disabilities


  • Learning and memory (diminished intellectual ability, slower pace of learning, difficulty relating information to new situations)
  • Self-regulation (do not develop efficient learning strategies like rehearsal)
  • Adaptive skills (abilities to adapt to demands of environment, relate to others, and take care of personal needs lag behind peers)
  • Academic achievement (significant delays in literacy and mathematics, better at decoding words than comprehending meaning)
  • Speech and language (delayed development, most common difficulties involve articulation, voice, and stuttering)
  • Physical development (majority with severe/profound ID have multiple disabilities affecting intellectual and physical development)
• The prevalence of intellectual disabilities worldwide and across all ages is estimated at 1 percent of the total population. For school-age children between ages 6 and 21, approximately 7 percent of all students with disabilities between the ages of 6 and 21 are identified as having intellectual disabilities.
• Genetic conditions associated with intellectual disabilities


  • Chromosomal disorders (Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, fragile X syndrome)
  • Single gene disorders
  • Multifactorial disorders
• Intellectual disability


  Conditions associated with intellectual disability
• Causes of intellectual disability


  • Genes inherited from parents
  • Errors when genes combine
  • External factors (infections during pregnancy, overexposure to X-rays)
• Types of genetic disorders


  • Chromosomal
  • Single gene
  • Multifactorial
• Chromosomal disorders


  Caused by a person having too many or too few chromosomes or by a change in the structure of the chromosome that disrupts its function
• Intellectual disabilities associated with chromosomal disorders


  • Down syndrome
  • Williams syndrome
  • Fragile X syndrome
• Williams syndrome


  Characterized by an absence of genetic materials on the seventh pair of chromosomes
• Fragile X syndrome


  A common hereditary cause of intellectual disabilities associated with genetic anomalies in the 23rd pair of chromosomes
• Single-gene disorders


  Occur when cells cannot produce proteins or enzymes needed to process
• Prenatal environmental factors that can result in intellectual disability


  • Exposure to drugs and alcohol
  • Toxins
  • Maternal illnesses
  • Malnutrition
• Intoxication


  Cerebral damage that results from an excessive level of some toxic agent in the mother–fetus system
• Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol effects (FAE)


  A group of physical and mental birth defects resulting from a woman's drinking alcohol during pregnancy
• Maternal substance abuse


  Associated with gestation disorders involving prematurity and low birth weight
• Prematurity


  Infants delivered before 37 weeks from the first day of the last menstrual period
• Low birth weight


  Babies that weigh 2,500 grams (5½ pounds) or less at birth
• Prematurity and low birth weight


  Significantly increase the risk of serious problems at birth, including intellectual disabilities
• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)


  When transmitted from the mother to an unborn child, can result in significant intellectual deficits
• Anencephaly


  A condition in which the individual has a partial or even complete absence of cerebral tissue
• Hydrocephalus


  An excess of cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the skull and results in potentially damaging pressure on cerebral tissue
• Difficulties during the birth process


  Can result in injuries that cause intellectual disabilities
• Anoxia


  Oxygen deprivation
• Childhood diseases that may lead to brain damage


  • Whooping cough
  • Chicken pox
  • Measles
  • Hib disease that may lead to meningitis and encephalitis
• Children living in poverty


  At higher risk for malnutrition, childhood diseases, and exposure to environmental health hazards, and often receive inadequate health care