STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

Intellectual disability

Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior, affecting educational performance.

Subaverage general intellectual functioning

Defined as a score below 68 on a standardized intelligence test.

AAIDD

American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Adaptive behaviors

Learned behaviors reflecting an individual’s competence to meet everyday demands.

Conceptual skills

Include memory, language, reading, writing, math reasoning, and problem solving.

Social skills

Empathy, communication, friendship abilities, and social judgment.

Practical skills

Involve self-management, personal care, and orientation to tasks.

HISTORY 1951

People with intellectual disabilities faced institutionalization and segregation.

ARC

Led the movement to deinstitutionalize people with intellectual disabilities.

1975 Legislation

The Education for All Handicapped Children Act required public schools to educate all students with disabilities.

Rosa's Law

Replaced 'mental retardation' with 'intellectual disabilities' in several laws in 2010.

Prevalence of intellectual disabilities

6% of students receiving special education services are identified as having an intellectual disability.

Genetic Causes of Intellectual Disabilities

Commonly Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome.

Down syndrome

Occurs in approximately one in every 700 babies.

Trisomy 21

Most common type of Down syndrome, accounting for about 95% of cases.

Mosaicism

Diagnosed with a mixture of normal and extra chromosome cells.

Translocation

An extra part or full copy of chromosome 21 attaches to another chromosome.

Fragile X syndrome

Caused by a mutation in the FMR1 gene and is genetically inherited.

Identifying intellectual disabilities

Involves using intelligence tests and adaptive behavior assessments.

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

An example of an intelligence test for identifying intellectual disabilities.

Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales

An assessment tool for adaptive behavior skills.

Supports Intensity Scale

Measures support needs of students across adaptive behavior categories.

Direct observation

Helps determine a student’s functioning level compared to peers.

Person-centred planning (PCP)

Involves the person with a disability and significant others in future planning.

Memory

A conceptual skill that involves recalling information.

Empathy

A social skill related to understanding others' feelings.

Self-management

A practical skill encompassing personal care and behavior regulation.

Problem solving

A conceptual skill involving judgment in novel situations.

Friendship abilities

Social skills that facilitate building and maintaining friendships.

Social judgment

A social skill related to assessing social contexts and dynamics.

Community integration

The movement to enable individuals with disabilities to live in community settings.

Special Education Services

Services provided to students with various disabilities, including intellectual disabilities.

Sterilization practices

Historical actions taken against people with intellectual disabilities.

Disability representation in education

The importance of providing access to education for all students.

Educational intervention

Supports put in place to help students with intellectual disabilities succeed.

Curriculum-based assessments

Assessments that evaluate students based on their coursework.

Extrachromosomal presence

Refers to the presence of an extra chromosome, specifically chromosome 21 in Down syndrome.

Self-reports

Method of assessing support needs through input from students and their guardians.