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Mental Retardation
Overview
Mental retardation is a collection of intellectual limitations that affect a person’s ability to function in everyday areas. Mental retardation is diagnosed by looking at two main things- the ability of a person's brain to learn, think, solve problems, and make sense of the world (called IQ or intellectual functioning), and whether the person has the skills he or she needs to live independently (called adaptive behavior, or adaptive functioning).
Stats
Research has shown that as many as three out of every 100 people in the United States have mental retardation. 1 Additionally, nearly 613,000 children ages 6 to 21 have some level of mental retardation and need special education in school. 2
Impact
The intellectual limitations caused by mental retardation can affect a person’s ability to understand verbal and written information, form relationships, manage personal care, and often cause a person to learn more slowly.
