Week 7 ID Flashcards
What are the 3 essential elements defining ID?
- Intellectual limitations
- Deficits in adaptive skills
- Early onset
What are some things to take into account when interpreting one’s intellectual functioning?
- Context of what is typical for that individual’s peers and culture
- Cultural and linguistic diversity
- Differences in communication
- Sensory, motor and behavioral factors
What does adaptive functioning refer to?
How effectively individuals cope with ordinary life demands and how capable they are of living independently and abiding by community standards
Is IQ stable from childhood to adulthood?
Yes
Mental ability is always modified by ___________ despite its strong genetic component
experience
____________ offers the most significant opportunity for influencing
Infancy through early chiildhood
What is the Flynn Effect?
Sharp rise in IQ test scores, ranging from 5 - 25 points increase in a single generation
What do these gains in Flynn Effect reflect?
meaningful aspect of intellectual growth and development
a relatively permissive and child-focused parenting style has emerged during recent decades, which may have given children greater facility with language and stronger overall cognitive capacity
What are some possible downsides to the Flynn effect?
test scores drop an average of 5.6 points among persons with borderline and mild ID after a test is re-normed, which can have significant impact on a child’s eligibility for proper educational placement and other related services
Is a subnormal IQ sufficient to warrant a diagnosis of ID?
No. A person must also show significant limitations in adaptive behavior, such as communication, self-care, social and interpersonal skills or functional/academic work skills.
This aspect of the definition is important because it specifically excludes persons who may function well in their surroundings, but for whatever reason they just don’t do well in standard IQ tests
What factors can contribute to a child’s level of adaptive skills, apart from innate ability?
Experience and opportunity to practise these skills.
E.g Urban/rural place of residence
What is the purpose of establishing an upper limit for the age of onset for ID (below age 18)?
- Acknowledges that ID is a developmental disorder that is evident during childhood and adolescence
- This age criterion rules out people who may show mental deficiencies caused by adult-onset degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s or head trauma.
What are the 4 levels of severity of ID?
Mild, moderate, severe, profound
The 4 levels of severity are defined on the basis of ___________ functioning in these domains: ________________ (3)
Adaptive
Conceptual, social, practical
What are some characteristics of mild ID?
Might show small delays in development during preschool years, but typically are not identified until academic or behavior problems emerge during early elementary years
Have over-representation of minority group members, most likely due to the social and economic disparities
When children with mild ID are in preschool, what do they exhibit?
no obvious conceptual differences actually
they typically develop social and communication skills during preschool years (0 - 5 years), perhaps during modest delays in expressive language.
usually have minimal or no sensorimotor impairment
What difficulties do school-aged children with mild ID face in the conceptual domain?
Learning difficulties in academic skills, involving reading, writing, arithmetic, time or money, the support needed in one or more areas to meet age-related expectations
By late teens, their acad skills can reach up to approx 12 y/o or p6 level
What traits do adults with mild ID face?
Impaired abstract thinking, executive function, STM and functional use of academic skills. There is a somewhat concrete approach to problems and solutions as compared to age-mates.
What are some signs of deficits in the social domain for children with mild ID?
• Show immaturity in social interactions
• Have difficulty in perceiving peers’ social cues
• Show immature or more concrete communication, conversation and language for age.
• Show difficulty regulating age-inappropriate emotion and behavior; may be noticed by peers
• Have limited understanding of risk in social situations
• Display immature social judgment for age (peers may see them as immature)
Are at risk for being manipulated by others (gullibility)
What can children with mild ID do in the practical domain of adaptive functioning?
may function age-appropriately and maintain personal care
may need some support with complex daily living tasks as compared with peers
What can adults with mild ID do in the practical domain of adaptive functioning?
Usually achieve social and vocational skills adequate for minimum self-support, but may need supervision, guidance and assistance, especially when under unusual social or economic stress
With appropriate supports, such individuals usually live successfully in the community, either independently or in supervised settings.
What do adults with mild ID require help on in the practical domain of adaptive functioning?
- Typically need support with shopping, transportation, home and child care, organizing, cooking and money management
- Participate in recreational skills similar to age-mates, but need support with well-being and organization
- May hold jobs that do not emphasize conceptual skills
- Need support with healthcare and legal decisions and with a legal vocation
- Often need support in raising a family
At which stage is moderate ID identified?
Usually identified during preschool years, when they show delays in reaching early developmental milestones
How do people with mild ID lag behind in their peers when it comes to conceptual skills?
a) preschoolers
b) school-aged children
c) adults
a) Preschoolers - language and pre-academic skills develop slowly
b) School-aged children: academic skills develop slowly and is limited as compared with those of peers
c) adults - acad skills development is typically at an elementary level, and support is required for all use of academic skills and work and personal life. need daily assistance with conceptual tasks of day to day life
Describe deficits that individuals with moderate ID would face in the social domain of adaptive functioning.
• Shows marked differences from peers in social and communicative behavior across development
• Uses less complex spoken language as primary tool for social communication
• Shows capacity for relationships in lifelong ties to family and friends
• May inaccurately perceive or interpret social cues
• Shows limited social judgment and decision-making abilities
• Needs caretakers to assist with life decisions
• Have friendships with typically developing peers that are often affected by communication or social limitations
Needs social and communicative support in work settings
Describe deficits that individuals with moderate ID would face in the practical domain of adaptive functioning.
• Eat, dress, eliminate and practice hygiene age-appropriately after extended teaching, time practicing and reminders
• Participate in all typical household tasks after extended period of teaching ongoing
• May achieve independent employment in jobs that require limited conceptual communication skills, but need considerable support from co-workers/supervisors
• Develop a variety of recreational skills, but will need additional, extended supports and learning opportunities
Maladaptive behaviors present in a significant minority and cause social problems.
Describe 3 difficulties that an individual with severe ID will face in the conceptual domain of adaptive functioning.
- Attain few conceptual skills
- Has little understanding of written language or of concepts involving numbers
- Needs caretakers to provide problem-solving support throughout life
Describe some difficulties that an individual with severe ID will face in the social domain of adaptive functioning
• Exhibits limited spoken language in terms of vocabulary and grammar
• Speaks using single words or phrases and may be supplemented through augmentative means
• Exhibits speech and communication focused on the present
• Uses language for social communication more than for explication
• Understands simple speech and gestural communication
Has relationships with family members and familiar others for pleasure and help
Describe 5 difficulties that an individual with severe ID will face in the practical domain of adaptive functioning
• Needs support for daily living (e.g eating, dressing, bathing, elimination)
• Needs supervision at all times
• Unable to make responsible decisions regarding well-being of self or others
• Needs long-term teaching and ongoing support in all domains to acquire skills
Maladaptive behavior, including self-injury, is present in a significant minority
For individuals with profound ID, conceptual skills generally involve the ______ rather than symbolic processes.
Elaborate with some examples of this.
physical world
• May use objects in goal-directed fashion for self-care, work and recreation • Uses visuo-spatial skills, such as matching and sorting based on physical characteristics However, co-occurring motor and sensory impairments may prevent functional use of objects
Describe some difficulties that an individual with profound ID will face in the social domain of adaptive functioning
• Has very limited understanding of symbolic communication in speech or gestures • May understand some simple instructions or gestures • Nonverbally, non-symbolically expresses most desires and emotions. • Enjoys relationships with well-known family members, caretakers, and familiar others. • Initiates a response to social interactions through gestural and emotional cues. • May have co-occurring sensory and physical impairments, which may prevent many social activities.
Describe some difficulties that an individual with profound ID will face in the practical domain of adaptive functioning
• Is dependent on others for all aspects of daily physical care, health, and safety, but may participate in some of these activities.
• Without severe physical impairments may assist with some daily work tasks at home.
• May perform simple actions with objects, with extended support, related to vocational activities.
• Enjoys recreational activities with the support of others.
• May have physical and sensory impairments that prevent participation (beyond watching) in home, recreational, and vocational activities.
May exhibit maladaptive behaviors (only a significant minority).
Between () to () months of age, the toddler begins to acquire language and to draw on memories of past experience
18 to 24 months
During 18 - 24 months of age, the child’s environmental conditions and opportunities are known to play a crucial role in? (2)
- Fostering enthusiasm for learning
2. Establishing the roots of intellectual sophistication
What is the developmental-versus-difference controversy?
Do all children, regardless of intellectual impairments, progress through the same developmental milestones in a similar sequence but at different rates?
Or do children with ID develop in a different, less sequential and less organized fashion?
What does the developmental position propose about ID?
Applies primarily to individuals not suffering from organic impairment
1) similar sequence hypothesis - all children, with or without ID, pass through stages of cognitive development in an invariant order. differ only in rate and upper limit of development
2) similar structure hypothesis - children with ID demonstrate the same behaviors and underlying processes as typically developing children at the same level of cognitive functioning (match by mental age)
The similar _________ hypothesis has been supported for children with familial ID generally.
structure
children with familial ID show slight deficits in memory and information processing as compared with mental-age-matched children without ID, which may be due to the children’s difficulty in staying motivated to perform repetitive, boring tasks.
The developmental position rejects the notion of a specific deficit or difference among children with ID. What do they emphasize on instead?
These children traverse the stages more slowly and attain a lower developmental ceiling than typically developing children
Children with familial ID generally follow developmental stages in an _________ order, the same as children with normal ID, with the possible exception of some children with co-occurring abnormalities or autism.
invariant
What does the difference viewpoint postulate about ID?
The cognitive development of children with ID differs from that of children with ID in more than developmental rate and upper limit
List 4 factors that can affect adult outcomes
- Motivation
- Changes in abilities
- Language and social behavior
- Emotional and behavioral problems
How does one’s motivation affect adult outcomes of ID?
Bright enough for mainstream education but more susceptible to a sense of helplessness and frustration, which places additional burdens on their social and cognitive development
Might come to expect little success, set lower goals for themselves, and settle for minimal success when they can actually do better
Learned helplessness might unwittingly be condoned by adults
With stimulating environments and caregiver support, what can young children with ID do?
can improve in their ability to remain on task and develop goal-directed behavior
With appropriate training and opportunities, what can children with mild ID achieve?
good adaptive skills in other domains and may exceed the level of impairment required for a diagnosis of ID if they are given appropriate training and opportunities
What is the slowing and stability hypothesis?
Children with Down syndrome often show significant age-related gains in adaptive functioning, but as they grow older, their pace of development levels off or event declines.
Affirms that children with Down syndrome may alternate between periods of gain in functioning and periods of little to no advance
What differences in language development exist between children with Down syndrome and their typically developing age-mates?
Considerable delay in their expressive language development that is necessary to establish independent living skills
Which form of language do children with Down syndrome have difficulties in?
Expressive language weaker than receptive language, especially as they attain communication abilities beyond the 24 month level
What can deficits in expressive language lead to? (2)
Impedes ability to form secure attachments with caregivers as they express less emotion than other children.
Problems in the emergence of a sense of self
What are the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorders for children with ID?
Impulse control disorders
Anxiety disorders
Mood disorders
At which developmental period is there an increased risk for mood disorders and other internalizing symptoms?
Adolescence
How do ADHD-related symptoms play out in ID?
• Teachers and parents of children and adolescents with intellectual disability commonly report ADHD-related symptoms that require adjustments in instruction and child-management strategies.
• When a teacher is present to prompt the appropriate behavior and participate in the activity, children with ID with and without ADHD generally will remain on task.
• However, when instructed to work without teacher assistance, differences between those with and without ADHD emerge
When children with ID and ADHD are placed on stimulant medication, they are able to remain on task for longer periods and their accuracy on cognitive tasks improves, similar to the responses of children with normal IQs.
Causes of intellectual disabilities were divided into 2 fairly distinct groups - _______ and __________
organic
cultural-familial group
What 4 major categories of risk factors contribute to ID?
biomedical
social
behavioral
emotional
At which severity level of ID is it harder to identify the underlying causes of ID?
mild - can be a mix of familial or organic causes
the rest are more straightforward - usually organic causes
The _____ group of ID is overrepresented by those of lower SES and social disadvantage and is significantly related to a family history of ID.
familial
The heritability of intelligence is approximately 50% - what does it imply about the underlying causes of intelligence?
Provide evidence in support of this
Both genetic and non-genetic factors play powerful roles in the makeup and expression of intelligence as we age
Major environmental variations do affect cognitive performance and social adjustment in children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Children born to socially disadvantaged parents and then adopted into more privileged homes have higher IQ scores, stronger self-esteem, and fewer acts of delinquency than siblings reared by their disadvantaged, biological parents.
How does the prenatal environment influence IQ?
○ A review of studies of twins and non-twin siblings revealed that a shared prenatal environment accounted for 20% of IQ similarity in twins but only 5% in non-twin siblings
○ These findings imply that prenatal influences like nutrition, hormone levels, and toxic substances may be misidentified as genetic when in fact they are environmental
If early environmental (prenatal) influences have a significant impact on intellectual functioning, then expanding public health initiatives aimed at improving maternal nutrition and reducing prenatal exposure to toxins may not only improve maternal prenatal care, but may also improve children’s intellectual and cognitive functioning
List some examples of genetic and constitutional factors behind ID.
- Chromosomal abnormalities
2. Single-Gene Conditions
In most cases of Down syndrome, the extra chromosome results from non-disjunction, which is?
failure of the 21st pair of mother’s chromosomes to separate during meiosis
Based on neuropsychological testing, what differences were found among young children with and without Down’s syndrome?
hippocampal function
because the hippocampus plays an important role in LTM, these findings help explain some of the underlying processes that affect the ability of children with Down syndrome to acquire normal language skills (a fundamental aspect of IQ)
_____________ is the most common causes of inherited ID and the most common cause of autism.
Fragile-X syndrome
What are some behavioral characteristics of fragile X syndrome?
Males:
Unusual social and communication patterns marked by shyness and poor eye contact, as well as significant delays in cognitive and communication development.
Females: Social anxiety and avoidance are also common in girls with this disorder, even if unaccompanied by intellectual disability
what is Prader-Willi syndrome?
a complex genetic disorder that includes short stature, intellectual disability or learning disabilities, incomplete sexual development, low muscle tone, and an involuntary urge to eat constantly
Between 2 - 6 y/o, children with this syndrome develop extreme overeating, foraging and hoarding. They need fewer calories than normal to maintain an appropriate weight because they are small, and they invariably become obese.
Angelman syndrome is associated with ID that is _________ and __________.
It is characterized by?
mild and moderate
ataxia (awkward gait), jerky movements, hand flapping, seizures and the absence of speech
Distinctive facial features include a large jaw and an open-mouthed expression
Fetal and infant development can also be affected by adverse biological conditions, with _______________ being the most widely recognized preventable cause of ID.
prenatal exposure to alcohol through maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy
how is fetal alcohol syndrome linked to intellectual impairment?
mechanism is not clear, but is believed to involve the teratogenic (damage to fetal development) and the related damage from metabolic and nutritional problems associated with alcoholism
What is fetal alcohol syndrome characterized by? (3)
- Central nervous system dysfunction
- Abnormalities in facial features and growth retardation
- Affected children falling below the 10th percentile
On average, the IQ of children and youths with FAS is in the ___ range of IQ.
mild
What problems do children with FAS face too, apart from intellectual deficits?
Long-term difficulties that resemble ADHD, including attention deficit, poor impulse control and serious behavior problems
List some social and psychological underlying causes of ID.
Parental deviance (abuse/neglect) Child-rearing environment and atmosphere that serve to direct and shape the child's psychologicla development right from the beginning
What is one way that parents can adapt successfully to having a child with special needs?
Use social supports and community resources, although individual preferences regarding the type of support used may vary
What differences are there in the concerns that mothers and fathers have about raising a child with ID?
mother: how raising a child with ID may affect their personal relationships with their husbands + the restrictions the child’s care may place on their role in the family
father: worry about not feeling close to the child
_______ is a strong predictor of developmental progress and self-sufficiency.
early cog development
What can treatment for children with ID be focused on?
- Build on the child’s existing resources and strengths in an effort to bolster particular skill areas and learning abilities
- Not necessary to focus attention primarily on what the child lacks, but rather on how best to match teaching and therapeutic methods to the child’s own levels and abilities to accomplish realistic, practical goals.
Treatment and education for children with ID involve a _____, _____ strategy that considers children’s needs within the context of their individual development, their family or institutional setting and their community.
multicomponent, integrated
List 5 types of therapy/preventive methods for children with ID
prenatal screening and education
psychosocial treatment - early intervention, behavioral therapy, cbt, family interventions
What is done in prenatal education and screening?
Parents are provided with information about the different periods of fetal development and are cautioned about the use of alcohol, tobacco, non-prescribed drugs and caffeine during pregnancy
Describe to them the stresses of childbirth and postnatal adjustment - give parents the option to consider the additional support they may need and the changes they may need to ensure the child’s safety and health
Discussion of children with special needs to ensure parents are not left feeling confused and alone
What is done to reflect a multicultural focus in prenatal education?
○ Family members make choices based on cultural influences
○ To be of most help, prenatal and postnatal services must be culturally diverse and culturally sensitive
○ Meeting this goal involves working with informal support and assistance networks, like churches, community and spiritual leaders and community organizations, in ways that extend self-determination
Prenatal programs are increasingly breaking away from a set curriculum and are being modified to establish a better fit with each cultural group or community
What does early intervention comprise?
Systematic efforts to provide high-risk children with supplemental educational experiences before they enter school and this intervention frequently includes other family and child services
What is the optimal timing for early intervention to be effective?
preschool years
Early education programs are highly relevant to the issue of _________ effects in ID. Why?
environmental
these programs usually involve children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, who have a much higher risk of ID.
The lasting benefits of early intervention depend on two factors. What are they?
stability and continuation of environmental changes that foster healthy child development
Give 3 examples of behavioral treatment.
language training, social skills training, modeling/graduated assistance
What is a fundamental starting point for teaching more advanced skills to children with ID?
language training
Give some examples of how language training works for children with ID
- Reinforced by edibles and praise for emitting sounds that imitated the therapist’s sounds
- Speech therapist will use a shaping procedure that began by forming a list of responses (such as “ge”, “ga”, “oh”) that were progressively more similar to the target response
To encourage speech sounds and simple words to become functional speech and language, the therapist can teach the child to imitate the names of pictures shown to her
• If the child said the name of the picture (e.g “dog”) within a few seconds, she received social rewards, and if necessary, tangible rewards like candy,
• As the child becomes more adept at naming the pictures, the therapist began to use some of the trained words in response to questions he would pose, such as “what is this?”
Can also bring parents into the sessions with the therapist to begin asking her similar questions and promote her use of functional speech
As the child’s speech grew, short sentences were introduced - ones that would be of most use to the child on a daily basis at home, cafeteria and when asking to use the bathroom
What does social skills training help with?
promoting integration into regular classrooms and other activities
