Symptoms and types of mental retardation in children

In the modern world, the importance of intelligence for achieving success in most spheres of human activity cannot be overestimated, which is why most parents are so upset when they hear a diagnosis of mental retardation addressed to their child.

However, the situation is not so depressing - even such a baby is quite capable of reaching an acceptable level of development and being an independent person in adult life, you just need to build the upbringing and educational process correctly.

What it is?

Mental retardation, also known as mental retardation, is a child's pathological lag behind his peers in all areas of intellectual activity. There are numerous signs that distinguish ordinary academic failure due to restlessness or bad behavior from oligophrenia.

Violations are already noticeable even in the perception of the surrounding world. Tasks that seem simple to ordinary people are real difficulty for such a child. - for example, it is difficult for a baby to distinguish generally similar objects (a compass and a clock, a cat and a squirrel), he does not perceive objects that are only partially visible, he may not understand the difference between light and shadow, and may not even be able to distinguish the facial expressions of other people.

Physical activity is not distinguished by grace - there is no smoothness in movements, they are sharp and angular, they lack precision. The latter means that such a child will have special educational needs, at least at the stage of obtaining a professional education, and if the disease has become severe, it is possible that a person suffering from mental retardation will not be able to work at all.

With oligophrenia, very memory suffers greatly, which does not always allow to study in a general education school - both because of the global lag of the kid in the study of disciplines, and because of the incorrect reaction to such academic performance on the part of classmates.

It is difficult for an oligophrenic to remember information from the first time, but even with repeated repetition, it is usually forgotten very quickly. In general, the memory of such a patient is characterized by the alogical principle - it is difficult for the patient to remember what he is trying to drive into his head, but he can remember some signs of a phenomenon or object as if by accident. Abstract logic is especially difficult, but the situation with memorizing mechanical movements is a little better.

A child with mental retardation is extremely inattentive, he is easily distracted by any extraneous stimuli, which further inhibits the development of cognitive activity. In this case, the problem lies not in the teacher's inability to interest the child, but in the illness, since the student quickly loses interest even in what he has just been completely passionate about.

Oligophrenia is also very noticeable in thinking, or rather, in its significant lag. It is difficult for a child to come to any conclusions of his own - at best, he simply remembers that he was once told about a similar situation, but he is not capable of some new thought.

If the difference between objects for children suffering from mental retardation is still relatively obvious, then they usually do not see common features, even when they are very noticeable; because of this, they, in particular, do not understand the meaning of sayings and other similar figurative expressions, since they take them strictly literally. For the same reason, you can force such a child to learn the lesson by heart, but he will not be able to apply the knowledge gained in practice, since he does not see the general meaning in it.

Formation of basic learning activities is further complicated complete lack of critical thinking - the kid is always sure of his own righteousness, it is difficult to convey to him both the very possibility that he is mistaken and the specific essence of the error. The general illogicality of thinking and its functioning according to stereotyped schemes are noted; it is generally very limited and does not at all imply any adequate planning or forecasting.

It is not surprising that with all of the above speech also suffers. Only one of the five oligophrenics does not suffer from speech disorders, while all the rest have slurred speech, incorrect pronunciation of words and the construction of sentences, general nasalism, sometimes these symptoms are also supplemented by stuttering.

The speech of a mentally retarded person is characterized by monotony, a complete absence of expression, necessary pauses, and feigned emotions. Scientists have come to the conclusion that such problems are largely caused by poor perception - the child himself hears those around him, therefore it is difficult for him to learn to speak better.

Intensive exercises are capable of giving a positive result, but, as a rule, they do not bring the patient to the level of healthy ones, and the impossibility of normal communication only aggravates the general picture of backwardness.

The behavior of the oligophrenic is characterized by instability, the norm for him is a sharp change in mood, as well as an inadequate reaction to what is happening - the perception of serious events as minor troubles, and vice versa. Any emotions are hypertrophied.

Since the oligophrenic is always sure of his own righteousness, he only likes those people who praise him, while he perceives even reasoned and friendly criticism as attacks.

Full confidence in one's own infallibility, especially against the background of an underdeveloped personality, forms an overestimated self-esteem, which also complicates contact with others.

Causes of occurrence

Oligophrenia can be either congenital or acquired in early childhood. Since this disease has been studied by specialists for a very long time, they managed to establish the specific reasons for the development of pathology.

Alcohol and drug use by both parents, especially by the mother during pregnancy, stands apart. Of those factors that greatly increase the likelihood of developing oligophrenia after birth, insufficient nutrition is most prominent, which negatively affects the formation of the nervous system and higher mental activity.

Other common risk factors include:

The use of potent drugs that inhibit the development of the nervous system both during pregnancy and in childhood.
Severe infectious diseases during gestation - scarlet fever, rubella, flu, and so on.
Incorrect metabolism in the mother's body.
Birth trauma to the brain.
Family history of oligophrenia.
Phenylketonuria and other pathologies of protein metabolism in the body of a born child.
Excessive technogenic pollution of the environment.

Symptoms

The sooner mental retardation is detected in a child, the better for him, because then specialists will be able to initially correctly build the learning process and maximize opportunities for a normal future for a small patient. Nevertheless, warning signs could be noticed much faster by those who are usually not very familiar with them - parents.

None of the symptoms listed below is a mandatory sign of a serious illness, but a combination of several of them at once becomes a mandatory reason for a visit to a specialized specialist.

It is quite obvious that any oligophrenic person is distinguished by a significantly reduced intelligence and an inability to adapt normally in society, but there are other characteristic markers:

Regular unmotivated behavior... Oligophrenus, even for himself, cannot always explain why he behaves strangely. A striking example can be both sudden mood swings and inadequately bright (or faded) reaction to what is happening around.
Exposure to external suggestion when forming opinions... Since the thinking of the oligophrenic is underdeveloped, he is not able to build complex logical chains, and therefore he practically does not have his own inferences or conclusions, and therefore, he does not have his own opinion either. All the information that he has was received from the outside, so he is unlikely to argue with any new information, even if it seems absurd to a healthy person. The only thing such a child is absolutely sure of is that he is right in any situation.
Failure to predict... Due to the inability to build even simple logical chains, the oligophrenic cannot predict the actions of others, even in the simplest situations. This is further facilitated by the fact that a mentally retarded person does not know how to draw analogies, therefore he does not use even the previously acquired experience if the situation then and now is at least somewhat different.
High impulsivity.
Poor learning. Even the simplest skills and abilities to instill in a sick child is very difficult. He either categorically does not understand what is being explained to him, or he too quickly forgets what he has learned, and globally.
Inability to adapt to the team. There can be many reasons for this phenomenon, including those that have nothing to do with oligophrenia, but if we are talking specifically about a child diagnosed with mental retardation, then one of the main reasons is that, due to his poor memory, the baby never learns in the team. The environment almost every day again turns out to be unfamiliar to him, because it is difficult for him to remember even minimal information about his comrades, starting with names and interests. Oligophrenic does not know how to predict the reaction of others to their actions, therefore he easily offends potential friends, although he does it unconsciously. Sharp rejection of even justified criticism in their address and problems with speech only increase the abyss, especially since children are by nature cruel and can easily make fun of an eccentric baby.
Constant disruption of the daily routine. This factor also does not necessarily indicate oligophrenia, however, in a child with mental retardation, this is due to the fact that he does not remember the order of tasks and procedures that need to be performed during the day. He cannot plan his own day, so he disrupts the planned schedule if he is not followed.
Failure to learn effectively. The child receives grades that are much worse than the average in his class, is not able to sit in one place for a long time, does not differ in attentiveness and gets tired quickly.
Complex of concomitant diseases, also provoked by disorders of the development of the nervous system: headaches, seizures, nervous tics and paralysis.

Diagnostics

Without an accurate diagnosis, including mentioning a specific stage, it is impossible to organize the correct treatment. The diagnosis of oligophrenia must be taken very responsibly, because this diagnosis is made once for a lifetime and is never revised. Even if a child manages to develop the correct model of behavior in society, he will still be at least a little different from the rest, so doctors tend to consider such a disease incurable, only well disguised.

The primary diagnosis of mental retardation is carried out by an objective assessment of the child's intellectual level. For this, standardized tests are used to determine the degree of development of intelligence in numerical terms. Most often, the Wechsler test is used for these purposes, and the results obtained from a child with suspected oligophrenia are compared with the results of other healthy children of his age, on the basis of which a positive conclusion can be made.

However, doctors usually do not limit themselves to such a simple method, but also conduct a defectological examination, by interviewing parents trying to track down any factors that could provoke mental retardation. Obviously, if there are any, the doctor will make a positive diagnosis much more confidently.

If the two previous methods are designed for those children who have already reached a certain conscious age, then there are also such diagnostic methods that allow you to determine oligophrenia in the fetus even at the stage of pregnancy. This practice is usually recommended (but not mandatory) for pregnant women over 35 years old, since it has been proven that it is these mothers, on average, who are more likely to encounter the problem of oligophrenia in newborns.

Usually, specialists analyze the chorionic villi, as well as examine amniocentesis, but there are other ways - in particular, an ordinary ultrasound scan or a mother's blood test for the content of alpha-fetoprotein, as well as a screening examination. Such a diagnosis does not always guarantee a 100% positive result, but it may indicate its high probability at the stage when it is not too late to have an abortion. In this case, doctors usually recommend terminating the pregnancy, and then getting pregnant again, but under the initial supervision of specialists.

Kinds

Depending on the scale of mental retardation, oligophrenia is divided into three main degrees, each of which has its own characteristic features. Actually, "Mental retardation" is only a generalized concept, while the diagnosis is usually made precisely by the name of the degree of retardation. They are worth considering in more detail.

Moronity

Let's start with a mild degree, which in general still allows a person to live fully in society. People with debility have an IQ level of 50-60, while the average of a healthy person is 90-110.

From the outside, it is almost impossible to identify a moron at first glance, he is very similar to an ordinary child, but suffers from absent-mindedness and an inability to concentrate, and his memory is weakened. At the same time, such a child can be taught to read, write and count, even without using special techniques, but in general, the baby is devoid of curiosity.

Developmental defects are noticeable even before school - the child plays very primitively and speaks in very simplified sentences, not using those words that are not useful in everyday life. It is difficult for morons to communicate with peers, they cannot recognize other people's emotions and withdraw into themselves, focusing only on their parents. Independent decision making and introspection are difficult.

Imbecility

This moderate degree of mental retardation is characterized by an increase in the above symptoms. The IQ level is within 35-49, the baby can independently take care of himself, learn to write, reading and counting, but he is no longer able to get a full education, and such a patient is not recommended to live separately.

Such a child will not be able to study in an ordinary school, and he can only work where extremely primitive repetitive movements are required of him, because the motor skills of imbeciles are noticeably inhibited.

Idiocy

This is a deep form of mental retardation, which requires constant supervision from adults, and even better - from specialists, therefore such children are advised to be placed in a special hospital.

IQ is limited to an extremely low limit - 34, and here even the best specialized teachers shrug their shoulders - there is practically no hope of teaching such a child even primitive things. Such a baby is either satisfied or unhappy - he has no other emotions.

Of the speech, there are only some words indicating the most basic needs, independent movement is also extremely limited. Idiocy is accompanied by other pronounced pathologies, such as disturbances in the shape of the skull and skeleton, paralysis, and so on.

Specificity of treatment

Only in the most severe forms, mental retardation requires constant inpatient treatment, but milder degrees usually require only periodic inpatient courses, and even then in the presence of exacerbations.

In order to more fully reveal the capabilities of a child with oligophrenia, both special medications and special training are used - adapted textbooks and exercises.

As a rule, drug treatment has a pronounced symptomatic character.

To accelerate development, stimulants of the nervous system and vitamins are prescribed, to counteract seizures - special drugs. Tranquilizers may also be used if the child's behavior becomes violent.

By themselves, medications practically do not give a full-fledged effect, therefore, thoughtful and well-coordinated work of many specialists is necessary - a speech therapist, a psychologist, and special teachers. For teaching, non-standard methods are used - for example, corrective didactic games and special pictograms.

An important function is performed by play exercises, which additionally stimulate the development of the nervous system and train motor skills. Professional advice often also includes an emphasis on beauty - in particular, the positive influence of music on oligophrenics has been proven, because it pushes to mental activity, provoking development, and contributes to an increase in interest in the world around.

Correct, specially planned education is usually given only by specialized boarding schools, where they are accepted from the age of 4, but with the right attitude, a child with a mild form of mental retardation is able to graduate from an ordinary school.

Adaptation in society

Social adaptation is an extremely important problem that every family with an oligophrenic child solves, since it is usually seen as the main goal of all treatment.

Oligophrenus will never become a healthy person, but his singularity may not be conspicuous or may be perceived by others as nothing more than a strange quirk. If parents and teachers managed to achieve such a result, then they can be congratulated. Psychologists insist that, at least in the case of morons, such a result is possible.

At the same time, the task is somewhat complicated by the fact that in fact, not only the child himself, but also his parents must undergo special training in order to know how to behave correctly.

Some parents get discouraged and believe that it is impossible to make any progress, so they do not try to do anything at all. Others, on the contrary, hypertrophically try to help their child, which is also not entirely correct, since you cannot raise a normal child, hiding from him his obvious feature, as well as constantly pointing out it.

Often, parents blame themselves for the baby's illness, and this usually happens in situations where their fault is actually indirect. This is also far from a solution, since the result is self-flagellation, which does not bring anything good, except for general dissatisfaction with life and depression.

Experts note that the mental retardation of a child is a problem, but a solvable problem, it should not be taken as someone's fault. The kid, on the other hand, just needs to be loved as if he were ordinary, and in a timely manner to follow all the recommendations of the doctors.

With such an attitude, in most cases, decent social adaptation is quite likely.

Prevention

With due diligence, parents can minimize the likelihood of a child developing mental retardation even before he is born. First of all, it is necessary to plan a pregnancy only if both potential parents are healthy.

The mother is strictly prohibited from using alcohol and drugs of the psychotropic group both during pregnancy and before her.

It will not be at all superfluous to undergo an examination together to identify possible chronic diseases, to conduct genetic research.

For the general normalization of all body functions, even a special diet can be suitable - balanced at the stage of preparation for pregnancy, and as nutritious as possible, but without harmful components already during gestation.

After the birth of a child, it should be understood that a visit to the doctor can be preventive, and not necessarily provoked by the obvious presence of health problems. It is easier to stop any disease at a stage when it has not yet had time to acquire critical forms, therefore, even if the child seems completely healthy, he periodically needs to be taken to the doctor in order to once again confirm his excellent state of health or identify any suspicious symptoms in time.