Mental Retardation (Mental Disorder )

The term mental retardation has a large number of definitions. In summary, however, they all have two common indicators:

• general impairment of cognitive faculties (originating before age 18),

• decreased adaptation to environment.

Decreased adaptation to the environment manifests itself through permanent deficiencies in the areas of communication, social skills, self-care and care for one’s health, education and spending free-time, and in adulthood also success in the community and at work. The absence is observed in persons with mental retardation of important behavioral patterns which are expected from an individual of a given age, and in the given cultural context. Children and adults with MR have not acquired the repertoire of behaviors typical for their given age, or they are unable to exercise them in a relevant manner in specific situations.

In general, we can say that mental retardation is decreased ability, characterized by significant limitations in intellectual functions, as well as in adaptive behavior, which manifests itself as a deficiency in the ability to think in abstract terms, as well as limitations in the practical skills necessary for an independent life.

Mental retardation can be classified using various criteria. Current classification systems start from the causes of the origin of the disorder, symptoms, severity of the disorder, or the degree of support which the individual needs to live as ordinary a life as possible. The classification below is based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD 10).