There are many signs of an intellectual disability. For example, children with an intellectual disability may:
sit up, crawl or walk later than other children
learn to talk later, or have trouble speaking
find it hard to remember things
not understand how to pay for things
have trouble understanding social rules
have trouble seeing the consequences of their actions
have trouble solving problems and/or
have trouble thinking logically
Diagnosis: Intellectual disabilities are diagnosed by looking at two main things. These are
The ability of a person’s brain to learn, think, solve problems and make sense of the world (called IQ or intellectual functioning) and
Whether the person has the skills he or she needs to live independently (called adaptive behavior or adaptive functioning)
Intellectual functioning or IQ is usually measured by a test called an IQ test. The average score is 100. People scoring below 70 to 75 are thought to have an intellectual disability. To measure adaptive behavior, professionals look at what a child can do in comparison to other children of his or her age
Certain skills are important to adaptive behavior. These are: daily living skills, such as getting dressed, going to the bathroom, and feeding one’s self
Communication skills, such as understanding what is said and being able to answer
Social skills with peers, family members, adults and others.
Participants