* Mental retardation (MR) is a social construct based on society's views and expectations of people
* Historically, MR has been defined by the AAMR
* American Association on Mental Retardation
* Old definitions included terms such as
* EMR - Educable mentally retarded
* TMR - Trainable mentally retarded
* Substantial limitations in functioning
* Significantly sub average intelligence
* IQ < 70-75
* Limitations in 2 or more of the following adaptive skill areas:
* Communication
* Self-care
* Home-living
* Social skills
* Community use
* Self-direction
* Health & safety
* Functional academics
* Leisure
* Work
* Manifests before age 18
Characteristics of Students with MR
* Difficulty focusing attention on relevant aspects/cues
* Memory impairments
* Difficulty generalizing skills from one environment to another
* Lack of motivation
* Learned helplessness
* Outer-directedness
* Limitations in adaptive skills
* self-direction/self-determination
* Need for supports
* Intermittent - infrequent, "as-needed"
* Limited - Occasionally, not in all settings
* Extensive - Ongoing/at least weekly
* Pervasive - Constant, lifelong
* Biomedical causes
* "within" the individual
* Chromosome disorders
* Down's Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome
* Oxygen deprivation
* Psychosocial Disadvantage
* Social, behavioral, and educational factors
* Poor nutrition, poor prenatal care, low birth weight, maternal MR, abuse or neglect
* Interaction of biomedical & psychosocial factors
* 1-3% of the general population
* 12% of children/youth in special education
* Many who used to be classified MR are now classified as LD
* Individual IQ tests
* Wechsler Scales (WISC-R)
* Stanford-Binet
* Adaptive behavior scales
* AAMR Adaptive Behavior Scale - 2nd Ed.
* Vineland
* Academics
* Basic academics (reading, writing, math)
* Functional academics
* Reading -- functional words in the environment
* Writing - signing checks
* Math - counting $, telling time, measurement
* General classroom support
* Tutorial assistance
* Curriculum modification
* Learning strategies
* Social skills
* Life-skills
* Identify environments where they will live as adults & teach skills needed to function in that environment
* Self-determination
* Making choices, decisions
* Setting goals
* Accepting responsibility
* Becoming independent
* Many of the same methods used with students who have LD, E/BD, ADHD!
* Task analysis
* Break task down into small steps, teach small steps until student can complete the task
* Applied behavior analysis
* Graphing, charting progress data
* Positive reinforcement of desired behavior
* Community-based instruction
* Over 1/2 are in separate "self-contained" classrooms
* About 1/4 are taught in resource rooms
* Few (8.6%) are educated in regular classrooms
* This may change because of push for inclusion!
* Professionals
* Teachers, therapists, vocational adjustment coordinator (VAC), job coach
* Families
* Need support
* The Arc - Association for Retarded Citizens
* Involved in "Group Action Planning"
* Community
* School-industry collaboration
* Friends, professionals, social service agencies
* Early childhood years
* Support for families can lead to prevention
* Early intervention (0-3) programs
* ECI, Early Head Start
* Children may start school at age 3
* Preschool Program for children with Disabilities
* Elementary years
* Many schools are now embracing inclusion
* Middle school & High school
* Focus on functional & vocational skills, transition
* Postsecondary years
* Focus on "competitive employment" (not sheltered workshops)
* Many careers are available
* Many individuals with MR can live independently or semi-independently