Intellectual Disability (Intellectual Developmental Disorder) (2024)

FAQs

What is intellectual disability or intellectual developmental disorder? ›

What is IDD? An intellectual or developmental disability, also called IDD, includes many severe, chronic conditions that are due to mental and/or physical impairments. IDD can begin at any time, up to 22 years of age. It usually lasts throughout a person's lifetime.

Definition of Intellectual Disability: --A disability characterized by significant limitations both in INTELLECTUAL FUNCTIONING and in ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR as expressed in conceptual, social and practical adaptive skills. This disability originates before age 18. (American Assoc. on MR or AAIDD)

IQ test results fall along the normal (bell-shaped) curve, with an average IQ of 100, and individuals who are intellectually disabled are usually two standard deviations below the average (IQ below 70).

In DSM-5, intellectual disability is considered to be approximately two standard devia- tions or more below the population, which equals an IQ score of about 70 or below.

Is ADHD considered an intellectual disability? No, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and intellectual disability are distinct conditions. They both fall under the same category of developmental disabilities, but they aren't the same thing. However, many people have both conditions at the same time.

A simplistic way of differentiating the two conditions would be to ascribe deficits in more narrowly defined or core areas to autism, while intellectual disability entails deficits across functional domains.

Intellectual disability (or ID) is a term used when a person has certain limitations in cognitive functioning and skills, including conceptual, social and practical skills, such as language, social and self-care skills.

The common types of intellectual disabilities include: Down syndrome, fragile x syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, and Prader-Willi syndrome. Intellectual disability is the impairment of cognitive functioning.

The most common known preventable or environmental cause of intellectual disability is fetal alcohol syndrome, the most common chromosomal cause is Down syndrome, and the most common genetic cause is Fragile X syndrome.

Because adults with ID often have significant intellectual and functional limitations that affect their ability to work, many qualify for SSI payments, DI benefits, or both. The SSI and DI programs use the same medical eligibility criteria for working-age adults.

At what age does an intellectual disability originate? ›

Intellectual disability is a condition characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior that originates before the age of 22.

A person with an intellectual disability has a life-long condition of slow intellectual development, where medication has little or no effect. A person with mental illness has a disorder that can be treated with medication, psychotherapy or other supports.

Definition. Mild intellectual disability (previously known as mild mental retardation) refers to deficits in intellectual functions pertaining to abstract/theoretical thinking. Mild intellectual disability occurs in approximately 1.5 percent of the population.

Severe intellectual disability

Symptoms of severe ID include: noticeable motor impairment. severe damage to, or abnormal development of, their central nervous system. generally having an IQ range of 20 to 34.

Some of the most common known causes of intellectual disability include fetal alcohol syndrome disorder; genetic and chromosomal conditions, such as Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome; and certain infections during pregnancy.

A person with an intellectual disability has a life-long condition of slow intellectual development, where medication has little or no effect. A person with mental illness has a disorder that can be treated with medication, psychotherapy or other supports.

Traditionally, cognitive or intellectual functioning has been measured through the intelligence quotient (IQ) tests, with an IQ of less than 70 recommended for a clinical diagnosis of Intellectual Disability.

Developmental disorder or developmental disability means a severe, chronic disability of an individual who has a mental or physical impairment by the age of 22 which is likely to continue indefinitely and results in substantial functional limitations in three or more areas of major life activity.

The term “global developmental delay” (GDD) is usually reserved for younger children (typically younger than 5 years), and the term “intellectual disability” (ID) is usually applied to older children when IQ testing is valid and reliable. ID involves both cognitive and adaptive or functional components.