Classification and treatment of mental retardation

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Mental retardation is a type of brain development defect. Children with mental retardation are often less intelligent than their peers and have difficulty performing some skills of daily living. Many parents worry about whether mental retardation is curable. In this article, some of the more common types of mental retardation and their treatment will be discussed.

1. Classification of mental retardation

Mental retardation is classified on the basis of clinical assessments and the patient's IQ. According to the unified World Health Organization, mental retardation is divided into 4 levels.
Severity: IQ < 20 Thinking: the patient seems to have no language, no thinking or only in a specific, rudimentary form, a dim sense of self. Emotion: very low emotional index, only related to the basic needs of the body such as hunger - cold will scream, full - warm is pleasant, calm. Behavior: not interested in surroundings, often just instinctive behavior. Abnormalities: in nerves, skin, senses, eyes - ears - teeth, skeletal system... Severity: 20 < IQ < 34 Symptoms are similar with severity. Moderate level: 35 < IQ < 49 Thinking: having language but few words, simple grammar, often mispronouncing; Children often have difficulty in writing activities, do not perceive the whole. Emotions: instability, diverse and fast-changing emotions. Behavior: varied in different subjects. Some children can be aggressive, some are quiet and quiet.

Mild level: 50 < IQ < 69 Thinking: difficult to distinguish from normal children, but learning ability is often worse than peers, lack of initiative and bad synthesis ability. Emotions: lack of independence, incompetence to solve problems. Behavior: depending on educational activities and how to treat children. If there are inappropriate educational methods, children are easily deviant in behavior and thinking.

2. Learn how to treat mental retardation

2.1. The principles of treatment

The problem of mental retardation treatment is based on social, educational, mental as well as living environment methods of the child because of a number of factors as follows:
Mental retardation of children often has involved in a wide range of psychiatric disorders, thus requiring specialized treatment as well as psychosocial support for the child. The process of treating mental retardation is complex and lengthy. In addition, the treatment time is mainly outpatient, in day hospitals or in educational medical centers. Therefore, children need attention from family in particular and society in general.

2.2. Specific treatment of mental retardation

Question "Can mental retardation be cured?" depends not only on the degree of developmental delay in the child, but also on the effectiveness of the treatments. In particular, the current treatment of mental retardation is based on the following main methods:
Educational therapy
Aiming to help children adapt to society to some extent, educational therapy plays a vital role. the following role:
Psychological stability for children. Rehabilitation of movement disorders or language disorders. Encourage children to adapt to their surroundings by creating relationships with people. Thus, the content of the method will include activities such as:
Training children's adaptive skills by guiding them in daily activities such as personal hygiene, shopping, cooking or cleaning home... Training children's social skills, including being polite to adults, communicating with or helping others. Cultural education such as literacy, simple math... Educational therapy is often intuitive and must be done many times.

Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy has a particularly important role in the rehabilitation of children with mental retardation, and can be applied individually or in groups. Specifically, when detecting a child showing signs of psychological instability such as agitation, autism, taciturnity, etc., psychologists will learn more about the child's family's living situation and guide them towards guide the family some methods of education, special treatment for children. In addition, psychotherapy will also take advantage of activities that stimulate the child's interest such as painting, music, games or career guidance activities...
Medicine
Treatment of mental retardation Medication is also often required, but medication plays a secondary role and focuses on treating symptoms:
When a child shows signs of anxiety, fear or stress, the doctor may prescribe Diazepam, Napoton... For children with agitation, mood disorders, behavioral disorders or obsessions... drugs such as Haloperidol, tranquilizers, and mood stabilizers can be used. Children with signs of mental disorders accompanied by hyperactivity disorder, autism, epilepsy, depression ..., doctors will base on each symptom to prescribe appropriate medicine.

In general, treating mental retardation requires a lot of effort and patience for children. Therefore, when a family has a child with this condition, each parent needs to be more conscious and attentive in the care and education of the child in combination with other therapies.
If parents see that their child shows signs of mental retardation, they need to calm down and take the child to a pediatric specialist medical facility for a doctor to check. Depending on the degree of speech delay and the age of the child, the doctor will have appropriate interventions to improve the child's developmental delay.
Currently, Vinmec International General Hospital has a pediatric specialty, a psychology clinic with the function of examining, consulting and treating psychological and mental health problems for children as well as for many other subjects. With modern equipment and a team of highly qualified and experienced doctors, capable of implementing psychological tests and intensive psychotherapy for medical examination and treatment.

Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.