International Day of Persons with Disabilities: Intellectual Disability

Representative Image. Pic/iStock

International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed on December 3 each year to foster greater disability inclusion. The global crisis of COVID-19 has only deepened pre-existing inequalities and exposed the extent of exclusion. As per World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, nearly 1 billion people (15 percent of the total global population) live with some form of disability. Owing to the extremely diverse nature of disabilities, people suffering from intellectual disabilities often do not receive appropriate medical care, as opposed to those with physical disabilities.

Even though several epidemiological studies conclude that roughly 1 percent of the global population suffers from intellectual disabilities, our understanding of the subject is extremely limited.

We spoke to Kamna Chhibber, Clinical Psychologist, Head-Mental Health, Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences at Fortis Healthcare.

What is intellectual disability?

When we speak of intellectual disability we refer to a deficit in the individual on account of two aspects:

• Challenges in being able to learn, reason, make decisions or solve problems (related to the intellectual functioning as represented by the IQ of the individual)
• Problems in performing the necessary day-to-day tasks and skills such as communicating, relating to others, taking care of the self, maintaining hygiene, to name a few. These are the adaptive skills required to live life.

What are the indicating signs of intellectual disability?

Typically for an individual to be diagnosed with an intellectual disability an assessment of their intellectual and adaptive functioning is done to create a benchmark for their current level of functioning in comparison to a normative group. Individuals who have an IQ of less than 75 and also show corresponding deficits in adaptive functioning are diagnosed with an intellectual disability.

"Identifying an intellectual disability can be difficult at times as the signs may not be as glaringly prominent. However, some things which can indicate the presence of intellectual deficits include delays in a child's development, delays in acquiring skills like language, skills for self-care, potty training, feeding themselves, remembering things, being impulsive, challenges in logically thinking through or analyzing a problem. These would need to be looked at as a whole and the presence of anyone aspect is not an indicator in itself of the existence of an intellectual disability. The more severe the intellectual disability the larger will be the deficits and gaps in skills that are observed. ," explained Ms. Chhibber.

What causes intellectual disabilities?

The reasons thus far explicated for the causation of an intellectual disability include the development of the problem on account of genetic factors such as in the case of Down's Syndrome or Fragile X Syndrome. There can also be challenges brought about on account of difficulties during pregnancy that can interfere with fetal brain development. This can happen due to alcohol or drug use, malnutrition, or some infections. Problems during childbirth that can lead to deprivation of oxygen or premature birth are also known factors as are certain illnesses or injuries which can lead to the development and perpetuation of intellectual disabilities.

How can one care for a child with intellectual disability?

Kamna lists the following aspects which must be kept in mind when looking at working with and parenting a child with intellectual disabilities:

• Inform and educate yourself elaborately on what intellectual disabilities are. Do not hesitate to ask questions from your primary care provider, pediatrician, psychologist, special educator, or any other expert you might be working with for your child.
• Be prompt in meeting experts if you see any signs mentioned above. Early intervention is an absolute must to take care of the deficits that can develop in adaptive and life skills.
• Keep working towards enabling your child to acquire skills and apply their learning. Providing support is important but it is equally important to keep gently nudging them in the direction of asserting the self, depending on the extent of deficits.
• Encourage your child to interact with others. Sensitize those your child interacts with about the difficulties so they too can be empathetic in their interactions.
• Stay involved with the work being done by the experts or at school to know how to keep modifying your approach to parenting your child.
• Keep expectations in check to prevent experiencing significant disappointment at the relatively slower rate of changes you are likely to see when working with your child.
• Build a support system of friends and family members.
• "Intellectual disabilities must be diagnosed by an expert and as you work with your child do not forget to engage in taking care of your own self. Care for the caregiver is a critical aspect in this regard due to the longitudinal nature of care provision," said Ms. Chhibber.

Ms. Kamna Chhibber is a contributor to myUpchar- an online health portal.

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