Students with Mental Retardation

1. Students with Mental Retardation ESE 380 March 5, 2009

2. The Definition • IDEA Definition  • 6. Mental Retardation... • ...means significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently [at the same time] with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifesting during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.  • http://nichcy.org/pubs/genresc/gr3.htm  

3. Significantly Sub-average Intellectual Functioning • No better than two standard deviations below the mean on a standardized intelligence test  • Examples of IQ Tests and Standard Deviations • Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) (15) • Stanford-Binet (16) • Otis-Lennon Tests (16) • California Test of Cognitive Skills (16)  • http://www.us.mensa.org/join_mensa/testscores.php3   

4. The Normal Curve

5. Adaptive Behaviors • Ten Areas of Adaptive Behavior • §    Communication • §    Self-Care • §    Self-Direction • §    Social Skills • §    Home Living • §    Functional Academics • §    Health & Safety • §    Community Use • §    Leisure • §    Work    

6. Evaluating Adaptive Behaviors • Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale • AAMR/AAIDD Adaptive Behavior Scale

7. True or False? • The majority of babies with Down Syndrome are born to women over the age of 40. • All children with Down Syndrome are loving, kind, and happy. • The most preventable form of mental retardation is fetal alcohol syndrome. • Some forms of mental retardation can be mitigated through a specific diet. • The vast majority of types of mental retardation are due to genetic or chromosomal disorders.

8. Some Statistics on MR/IDD • Eighty-five percent of individuals with MR are classified in the “mild” range • Approximately 60 percent of cases are males • Down Syndrome, Fragile-x Syndrome, and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome account for approximately 30 percent of all cases of MR • Down Syndrome accounts for Five percent of cases of mild MR, and 30 percent of severe MR • Eighty percent of children born with Down Syndrome are born to women under 35. • One in 35 births to women over 45 result in Down Syndrome

9. Etiology • Pre-natal (12 %) • Peri-natal (6 %) • Post-natal (4 %) • *Up to 78 % of cases of mental retardation have no identifiable probable cause (Yeargin-Allsopp, Murphy, Cordero, Decouflé, & Hollowell, 1997, as cited in Turnbull, • Turnbull & Shank, 2004))  

10. Causes of Mental Retardation • Down Syndrome • Fragile-x Syndrome • Phenylketonuria (PKU) • Cerebral Palsy (CP) • Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) • Rubella • Toxoplasmosis • Encephalitis • Congenital cytomegalovirus (Congenital CMV) • Meningitis • Chicken Pox • Whooping Cough • Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) • Environmental Factors (e.g. neglect, malnutrition)

11. Models of Classifying Mental Retardation • IQ • Mild (55-70) • Moderate (40-54) • Severe (25-39) • Profound (<25) • Levels of Support • Intermittent • Limited • Extensive • Pervasive

12. Intermittent Supports • Intermittent support refers to support on an "as needed basis." An example would be support that is needed in order for a person to find a new job in the event of a job loss. Intermittent support may be needed occasionally by an individual over the lifespan, but not on a continuous daily basis.  • http://www.arcct.com/faq.html   

13. Limited Supports • Limited support may occur over a limited time span such as during transition from school to work or in time-limited job training. This type of support has a limit on the time that is needed to provide appropriate support for an individual.  • http://www.arcct.com/faq.html  

14. Extensive Supports • Extensive support in a life area is assistance that an individual needs on a daily basis that is not limited by time. This may involve support in the home and/or support in work. Intermittent, limited and extensive supports may not be needed in all life areas for an individual.  • http://www.arcct.com/faq.html  

15. Pervasive Supports • Pervasive support refers to constant support across environments and life areas and may include life-sustaining measures. A person requiring pervasive support will need assistance on a daily basis across all life areas.  • http://www.arcct.com/faq.html   

16. The “Six-Hour Mentally Retarded Child” The “Six Hour Retarded Child”  • “...when children are labeled mentally retarded and placed in special education programs, they tend to act in ways that are consistent with the label. At home and in other extra-school contexts, these same children acted remarkably like their “normal” peers. Mercer called these “6-hour retarded children” — children who are retarded for six hours a day, that is, when they are in special education.” • http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:vXB5XtTeqOoJ:www.ed.uiuc.edu/EPS/PES-Yearbook/2003/rice.pdf+six+hour+mentally+retarded&hl=en  

17. Classification and the Social Construction of Mental Retardation “...classification becomes a mechanism for social control.  It institutionalizes the values of the cultural majority, governs the allocation of resources and access to opportunity, protects the majority from undue anxiety, and maintains the status quo of the community and its institutions.” (Hobbs, 1975,

18. Inclusion Some Information on Inclusion  Freeman & Alkin, (2000) analyzed 36 studies on the outcomes of inclusion for students with mental retardation and found that: • Students with mental retardation achieve high academic gains when they are more fully included in general education classes. • Academic gains are more positive when there is a greater degree of inclusion. • Students with mental retardation who were in general education classes full time were more socially competent and accepted than were students who were included in general education classes only part time or children who were on general education campuses but only shared recess time. • The age/grade of the student appears to have more influence than extent of retardation in accounting for favorable inclusion outcomes. • Students with mental retardation who are older experience more negative consequences from partial inclusion.