Developmental Disorder

Developmental disorder or developmental disability means a severe, chronic disability of an individual who has a mental or physical impairment by the age of 22 which is likely to continue indefinitely and results in substantial functional limitations in three or more areas of major life activity.

What is mental retardation?

Mental retardation negatively affects various areas of life; like academics, work life, the inability to form or maintain social relations as well in daily life functioning like taking care of one self and ones hygiene. It is also called as intellectual disability, intellectual development disorder, general learning disability as well as mental retardation. More recently people with mental retardation are called mentally challenged. It is generalized neurological development disorder.

What are the causes of mental retardation?

Causes of mental retardation can be prenatal i.e. before birth conditions, perinatal i.e. during birth conditions and postnatal i.e. after birth conditions.

• Genetic causes – abnormal genes can be inherited from parents or there can be errors in the combinations of genes or chromosomes. To name a few Down syndrome, Klinefelter’s syndrome, Fragile X syndrome (common among boys), neurofibromatosis, congenital hypothyroidism, Williams syndrome, phenylketonuria (PKU), Prader-Willi syndrome, Phelan-McDermid syndrome, Mowat-Wilson syndrome, genetic ciliopathy and SideriustypeX-linked intellectual disability are the caused by genetic or chromosomal abnormality and causes mental retardation.
• Problems during pregnancy – diseases that a mother contracts during pregnancy or consumption of alcohol or drugs during pregnancy can cause problems in the formation of the fetus resulting in mental retardation.
• Problems at birth – lack of oxygen, consumption of stool or any other problems during delivery can cause brain damage resulting in mental retardation.
• Exposure to certain types of diseases like whooping cough, measles, meningitis, etc or exposure to poisons like lead or mercury may also affect the brain and cause mental retardation.
• Iodine deficiency, goiter and cretinism can also cause mental retardation.
• Malnutrition is one of the common causes of mental retardation.
• Low birth weight – it is associated with poverty, problems during pregnancy, lack of proper development and nutrition during pregnancy all of which can be the cause of mental retardation directly, while low birth weight becomes an indirect indication towards more direct problems leading to mental retardation.

Exam Anxiety

At times when you may be trying to study for exams…

• Your mind may wander from one thing to another
• Your worries may distract you
• Outside distractions may take you away from your studies before you know it
• You may find the material boring, difficult, and/or not interesting

Creating the Right Environment for Studying

• Effective study skills must be practiced in order to improve
• It’s not enough to “think about” studying – you actually have to do it and then reflect on what you could be doing better