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Resource Page for Characteristics and Outcomes of Intellectual Disabilities

Intellectual Disabilities: 3 Vignettes: http://www.eds-resources.com/idcases.htm

Common Characteristics of Intellectual Disabilities There are many signs of intellectual disability. For example, individuals with an intellectual disability may: • have trouble speaking, • find it hard to remember things, • not understand how things work, • have trouble understanding social rules, • have trouble seeing the consequences of their actions, • have trouble solving problems, and/or • have trouble thinking logically.

About 87% of people with intellectual disability will only be a little slower than average in learning new information and skills. When they are children, their limitations may not be obvious. They may not even be diagnosed as having intellectual disabilityuntil they get to school. As they become adults, many people with intellectual disability can live independently. Other people may not even consider them as having an intellectual disability.

The remaining 13% of people with intellectual disability score below 50 on IQ tests. These people will have more difficulty in school, at home, and in the community. A person with more severe intellectual disability will need more intensive support his or her entire life. Every child with intellectual disability is able to learn, develop, and grow. With help, all children with intellectual disability can live a satisfying life.

Common Traits of People with Intellectual Disabilities • May not communicate at age level:

o Limited vocabulary o Difficulty understanding/answering questions o Mimics answers/responses o Unable to communicate events clearly in his/her own words o Unable to understand complicated instructions or abstract concepts

• May not understand consequences of situations o Unaware of seriousness of situations o Easily led or persuaded by others o Naïve eagerness to confess or please authority figures

• May not behave appropriately:

o Unaware of social norms and appropriate social behavior o Acts younger than actual age, may display childlike behavior o Displays low frustration tolerance and/or poor impulse control o May “act out”, become emotional, or try to leave if under pressure

• May have difficulty performing tasks o Difficulty with reading and/or writing o Difficulty with telling time o Difficulty staying focused and easily distracted o Awkward/poor motor coordination

• May be unable to move from abstract to concrete thought. o Most people can move from concrete to abstract thinking without effort. For

people with an intellectual disability, this is often difficult, if not impossible. If a word has both a concrete and an abstract meaning, the person will say “yes” they understand (concrete meaning) even when you are using the abstract meaning (wave vs. waive).

• May deny having a disability

o The hurt and stigma associated with the term mental retardation or an intellectual disability is so strong that people will deny having the disability even when it is against their self-interest to deny it.

• May have real memory gaps.

o Memory impairment is a basic symptom of brain damage, and people with an intellectual disability are more likely to have these gaps than others.

• May have problems with receptive and expressive language.

o There is often a large difference between someone’s ability to understand and ability to speak. People with an intellectual disability can mimic expressive language well, but may have minimal understanding of what is being said to them. They may pick the wrong meaning of a word that can be used in different contexts, e.g. “right” could mean:

§ right / wrong - right / left § having rights - knowing how to write.

• May have a short attention span

o Like memory gaps, people with an intellectual disability are more likely than others to have difficulty staying focused.

• May be eager to please

o People with an intellectual disability do not communicate on equal footing and have learned that life is easier if you say “yes” to people who are seen to be authority figures.