Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Important Facts On Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities

By Jerry Murphy


Developmental or Intellectual disability was until recently known as mental retardation but this term is slowly becoming obsolete. It is a condition that is characterized by maladaptive behaviors and cognitive impairment. Affected persons have difficulties in learning new tasks and tend to fall short of the expectations of their social environment. There are a number of things relating to individuals with intellectual disabilities in Portsmouth, VA that we need to know so that we can help them better.

The cause of most of the cases of developmental abnormalities remains unknown. However, it is believed that genetics, social influence and the environment play a major role. Many of those affected are considered to have the mild form of the condition. They have an IQ score of between 50 and 70. As they grow up, the children will exhibit some deficiencies in cognitive skills and social behaviors in the classroom but tend to be fairly normal outside the classroom.

Children considered to have intellectual disability should not be mixed with typically functioning peers. There is a cognitive gap between the two groups and the child who has disability would always have to play catch-up if they were to be taught together. Due to the limitations that exist among these children, teachers need to adopt methods that will help affected students get life skills at the very least. The emphasis should be on self-care and hygiene, vocational training, money concepts, time concepts, and leisure activities among others.

Accommodation is needed to enable persons who have special needs gain meaningful employment by providing some form of assistance. The extent of assistance varies depending on the degree of the problem. Some of the facilitative activities that can be undertaken include providing assistance in the area of reading and interpreting literature in the event that such a deficit exists. Other ways in which this can be achieved is through direct demonstration of job skills and making interviews more practical and less theoretical.

As they grow into adults, persons with intellectual disability lead independent lives in most cases. Unfortunately, however, many of them remain unemployed or are underemployed in spite of their willingness to take up jobs. There have been sustained efforts by concerned agencies and advocacy groups to make it easier for these people to get fair treatment in the workplace and to increase the opportunities available to them.

Employers should not divulge the medical information of employees with special needs unless under special circumstances. These include, for example, when there is a need to initiate emergency treatment and such information is deemed necessary. It may also be required by insurance companies when one is making a claim.

Asking questions related during interviews is discriminatory. However, employers can ask about the qualifications that the candidate has. The employee can disclose the information voluntarily if they believe that it will be helpful in the process. The employee has to explain how they intend to carry out their duties with or without accommodation. The employer and the employee should work together to determine the kind of accommodation that will needed.

Employers need to be actively involved in preventing harassment. There are many strategies that can be used to achieve this. One of them is to have a written policy that describes how other employees should work with them and spells out the consequences of harassment. Other methods that can be used include organizing regular meetings to discuss the issues, periodic training of managers and the preparation of handbooks.




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