Unlock Mentally Deficient Child | 5 key Strategies for teaching mentally restarted children

Mentally Deficient Children

A child suffering from mental retardation is considered a mentally retarded child.

Mental retardation: Generally, those children are considered mentally retarded whose intelligence level is lower than that of the average child of the same age. Whereas psychologists consider both intelligence and adaptive behaviour as the basis of mental retardation.

AAMD 1973 (American Association on Mental Deficiency):

According to AAMD – American Association on Mental Deficiency,  “Mental retardation refers to significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behaviour and manifested during the developmental period”.

Basically, Mental retardation means significantly below-average intellectual ability accompanied by a deficiency in adjusting behaviour, which manifests itself during the developmental period.

The definition of mental retardation is universally accepted. Based on this definition, mental retardation:

1. In mental retardation, the intellectual level is significantly below normal.

2. Adjustability is inadequate.

3. The manifestation of retardation becomes evident in the developmental period, i.e., from birth to 18 years.

Characteristics of  mentally retarded child:-

Here are some characteristics of  mentally retarted child-

(i) Physical Features: A weak body, short height, and many irregularities in the face, nose, ears, eyes, and fingers.

(ii) Intellectual capacity: Intelligence is less than that of a normal child, with an IQ of less than 70.

(iii) Reduction in the Capability and Capacity of Social Adaptability: A lack of social understanding and knowledge of morality, ignorance of right and wrong.

(iv) Low Language Development: In such children, despite tireless efforts, language development remains less than normal.

(v) Suggestibility: They blindly believe in the suggestions of others.

(vi) Limited Memory: Both long-term and short-term memory are limited, and interest is also low.

(vii) Lack of Self-Confidence and Self-Dependency: They are unable to take benefits from their past experiences.

Types of Mentally Deficient Children

AAMD (American Association on Mental Deficiency) and APA (American Psychiatric Association) have divided mental retardation into four parts.

4 types of mentally Deficient children are-

1. Mild Mental Retardation:

IQ 52-67. The intellectual level is equal to that of an 8-11 year-old child when fully grown. With proper guidance from parents, they can develop self-confidence in their daily tasks. Social adjustment is possible to some extent.

2. Moderate Mental Retardation:

IQ 36-51. They can be made capable of doing minor tasks through training. The rate of learning is slow, and the physical form may be clumsy, with an unbalanced functional aspect.

3. Severe Mental Retardation:

IQ 20-35. These children are dependent; their motor development and language development are severely retarded. When they become adults, they need to be fed and cared for, requiring assistance with daily tasks, including sleep.

4. Profound Mental Retardation:

According to American Association on Mental Deficiency, IQ less than 20. Severe physical irregularities are present, and they often have diseases of the central nervous system. Symptoms of deafness and muteness may also be present, and they require lifelong care. Such a child can often be easily identified in infancy itself.

Psychologists are interested in the education of children in the first two categories because children in the last two categories are generally considered untrainable.

Education & Adjustment of Mentally Retarded Students

1. Adaptation of Curriculum:

Skinner (1972) and Reilly and Lewis (Reilly & Lewis, 1983) suggested including handicraft, tailoring work, etc., in the curriculum due to the low intelligence level of such children. This adaptation helps in making the curriculum more relevant and effective.

2. Special Class:

A separate education system is provided for children with similar intelligence levels. Although separate education may cast doubt on their ability and capability, special classes are still necessary. They provide a supportive environment for children to learn and grow.

3. Proper Teaching Method:

Teaching is more beneficial than demonstration and lecture methods, as endorsed by Reilly & Lewis. This approach helps in making learning more engaging and effective.

4. Special Residential School: Heward & Orlansky have stated the following benefits of such schools:

(i) There is always supervision by the teacher.

(ii) A similar curriculum is provided for everyone according to their intelligence level.

(iii) A sense of respect and competition arises among the students towards each other.

(iv) In such schools, there are only 10-15 children in each class, allowing for personal attention from the teacher.

5. Behaviour Modification:

The skills taught by the teacher are divided into small steps and taught in a simple way through reinforcement.

Katzdin (Katzdin, 1978) achieved success in teaching various types of skills to mentally retarded children through this method. This approach helps in making learning more effective and sustainable.