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Intellectual Disability
People with intellectual disability form one of the largest single disability groups in a community. Intellectual disability refers to a general slowness to learn and function within society, and the identification of intellectual disability is usually based on an assessment of a person"s performance in a variety of tests. An individual"s level of performance, as assessed, can change with time and circumstances. With skilled training and opportunity for development, people with intellectual disability have much greater potential for acquiring skills and for participation in community life than previously had been thought possible.
In many western societies, five categories of intellectual disability have traditionally been used in order to indicate the perceived degree of difficulty an individual has with learning. All five may occur in either children, adolescent or adult, and show as mild, moderate, severe, profound or multiple intellectual disability.
For the majority of intellectual disabilities, there is no identifiable cause but there are some causes that are well documented. They include: brain damage at birth due to lack of oxygen—prolonged labor during childbirth; brain damage before birth due to factors such as rubella (风疹), drug or diet-related problems; damage after birth due to illnesses such as encephalitis (脑膜炎) or accident; hereditary defects in the genes；abnormal chromosome count resulting in, for example, Down Syndrome (唐氏综合症).
Like everyone else, people with an intellectual disability need a rewarding job, a satisfying place to live and a good social life. But they may need extra support to achieve these things. Good support services are based on the principle of normalization—which means enabling people to be part of the community like everyone else.
With the introduction of the intellectually disabled into communities, there is a need to promote awareness of communication. Although many people may have little experience in talking with an intellectually disabled person, there are common guidelines that can simplify the interaction. Firstly, it is useful to remember that people with disabilities have feelings. Speaking in the same friendly manner as you would to anyone else is also recommended. Being prepared to wait a little longer for replies during a conversation with an intellectually disabled person would undoubtedly benefit the exchange.