Mentally Retarded Children and Adolescents

Author(s):  
Edward A. Konarski
1986 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Gillberg ◽  
Eva Persson ◽  
Marianne Grufman ◽  
Ulla Themnér

A total of 149 children aged 13–17 years were examined. 83 were mildly and 66 severely mentally retarded. These children, especially the severely retarded ones, are representative of all mentally retarded children born in 1966–1970 and living in Göteborg, Sweden. 64% of the severely mentally retarded and 57% of the mildly mentally retarded children were suffering from a handicapping psychiatric condition. Autism-like ‘psychotic behaviour’ was common in the severely retarded. 0.2% of the total child population aged 13–17 years suffering from the combination of mental retardation and ‘psychotic behaviour’. Epilepsy was associated with psychiatric abnormality, but Down's syndrome was generally not so associated.


1989 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Del Rey ◽  
Deborah Stewart

An investigation was conducted with mildly mentally retarded subjects to investigate memory and transfer performance on a coincident timing task using 6- to 17-year-olds. Battig’s (1979) methodological and theoretical views on contextual interference were employed. Blocked and random practice schedules were administered during acquisition trials. In addition, a third acquisition group was created, identified as “sequenced,” which was characterized as a type of experimenter imposed strategy. This manipulation represented a practice schedule between blocked and random. The effects of these three practice schedules were investigated regarding their influence on retention and transfer. Support was found in retention for random acquisition and sequencing practice schedules. The use of strategic processes was viewed to have a positive impact on the retention of mentally retarded children and adolescents but the information was not transferable.


2003 ◽  
Vol 56 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 251-255
Author(s):  
Dusan Kolar ◽  
Svetomir Bojanin ◽  
Mila Kolar

Mental retardation is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by arrested or incomplete psychological development. The first part of the study deals with psychological and biological factors: etiology and pathogenesis of mental retardation and comorbid psychiatric disorders Their etiopathogenesis is similar as in other neurodevelopmental disorders and it was analyzed in the part dealing with biological specificities of persons with mental retardation. Numerous bio-psycho-social factors cause increased vulnerability of the mentally retarded to development of mental disorders. Thus, prevalence of these disorders is higher in mentally retarded persons than in general population. This study also deals with specificities regarding diagnosis of psychotic disorders in mentally retarded persons as well as neurobiologic, epidemiologic, clinical and therapeutic characteristics of schizophrenic psychoses, autism and affective disorders in persons with mental retardation. Special emphasis was given to diagnostics of these disorders in mentally retarded children and adolescents, as well as to problems of differential diagnostics. Apart from other things, we have concluded that specific clinical pictures demand subspeciality approach in the frame of developmental psychiatry.


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