Facts About Developmental Disabilities
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What is a developmental disability?
According to the new definition by the AAMR, an individual is considered to have a cognitive or developmental disability based on the following three criteria: intellectual functioning level (IQ) is below 70-75; significant limitations exist in two or more adaptive skill areas; and the condition is present from childhood. Adaptive skill areas are those daily living skills needed to live, work and play in the community. The new definition includes ten adaptive skills: communication, self-care, home living, social skills, leisure, health and safety, self-direction, functional academics, community use and work.

How many people are affected?
Over 60,000 persons in South Florida have mental retardation. Based on the 1990 census, and estimated 6.2 to 7.5 million people in the United States have mental retardation. It is 12 times more common than cerebral palsy and 30 times more prevalent than neural tube defects such as spina bifida. If affects 100 times as many people as total blindness. Mental retardation cuts across the line of racial, ethnic, educational, social and economic backgrounds. It can occur in any family. One out of ten American families is directly affected by mental retardation. About 87 percent will be mildly affected and will be only a little slower than average in learning new information and skills. The remaining 13 percent of people, those with IQs under 50, will have serious limitations in functioning. However, with early intervention, a functioning education and appropriate support as an adult, all can lead satisfying lives in the community.

What are the causes?
Developmental disabilities can be caused by any condition which impairs development of the brain before birth, during birth or in the childhood years. Several hundred causes have been discovered, but in about one-third of the people affected, the causes are Down Syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome and fragile X. There is clearly established relationship between poverty and developmental disabilities.

Malnutrition, lead poisoning and lack of prenatal care are a few factors which may contribute to the disproportionate occurrence of cognitive or other developmental disabilities among America’s economically deprived.

During the past 30 years, significant advances in research have prevented many cases of developmental disabilities. New attempts at treatment of a variety of causes are being developed. There are now improved ways to manage head trauma, asphyxia (lack of oxygen) and infectious diseases to reduce their adverse effects on the brain.

Early intervention programs such as Project Thrive that work with high-risk infants and children, have shown remarkable results in reducing the predicted incidence of subnormal intellectual functioning.

Finally, early comprehensive prenatal care and preventive measures during pregnancy increase a woman’s chances of preventing a developmental disability.

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