4: Arrested intellectual development: basic science

Question 1

What are the criteria for diagnosing a learning disability?

Answer 1

IQ < 70

Developing before the age of 18

Deficits in adaptive functioning

Question 2

What is a deficit in adaptive functioning?

Answer 2

Extreme: inability to walk, talk, feed yourself

through to minor difficulties in numeracy, literacy

Question 3

What is the prevalence of learning disability in the population?

Answer 3

3%

Question 4

What is the average IQ of the population?

Answer 4

100

Question 5

What is the IQ threshold needed to diagnose a learning disability?

Answer 5

< 70

Question 6

What percentage of the population have an IQ < 70?

Answer 6

3%

remember that you need to fulfill the other criteria to diagnose as learning disability

Question 7

What is the Flynn effect?

Answer 7

IQ is increasing by 10 points per generation

AND

by 10 points per person per decade

Question 8

If a patient’s IQ increases over 70 post-diagnosis with a learning disability, do they still have one?

Answer 8

Probably

not quite sure what he’s talking about ngl

Question 9

Are learning difficulties the same as learning disabilities?

Answer 9

No

Learning difficulty - deficit in a specific area e.g dyslexia

Learning disability - global deficit caused by arrest of intellectual development

Question 10

Can learning disabilities start in adulthood?

Answer 10

No

Must have started before the age of 18

Question 11

Is dyslexia a learning disability?

Answer 11

No

learning difficulty

Question 12

How is severity of a learning disability determined?

Answer 12

IQ

More severe as IQ decreases

Question 13

People with an IQ hovering around 70 have a ___ learning disability.

Answer 13

borderline

Question 14

What are the IQ thresholds for each severity of learning disability?

Answer 14

Borderline - hovering around 70

Mild - 50 to 69

Moderate - 35 to 49

Severe - 20 to 34

Profound - less than 20

Question 15

The lower your IQ, the greater your likelihood of having which neurological disease?

Answer 15

Epilepsy

Question 16

In general, what tasks do people with learning disabilities struggle with?

Answer 16

Understanding new or complex information

Learning new skills

Looking after themselves

Question 17

How is IQ calculated?

Answer 17

IQ = (MA/CA) x 100

MA = mental age, CA = chronological age

Question 18

Does learning disability come under the umbrella of mental disorder?

What does this mean legally?

Answer 18

Yes

Patients can be detained under the MHA and treated under the Adults with Incapacity Act

Question 19

What are some genetic causes of learning disability?

Answer 19

Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)

Angelman, Prader-Willi, Kilnefelter’s, Turner’s, Fragile X…

Question 20

Which neurological disease is Down syndrome associated with?

Answer 20

Alzheimer’s disease

Question 21

Which genetic syndrome, causing overeating, is also associated with learning disability?

Answer 21

Prader-Willi syndrome

Question 22

Which diseases are tested for in the newborn heel prick test?

Answer 22

Sickle cell anaemia

CF

Congenital hypothyroidism

Metabolic diseases (most notably PKU)

Question 23

What maternal problems, occuring before birth, may cause learning disability?

Answer 23

Viral infection

Drug or alcohol use

Malnutrition

Complicated birth

Question 24

What type of trauma must be ruled out in children presenting with a learning disability?

Answer 24

NAI

“Shaken baby syndrome”