Intellectual Disabilities

People with intellectual disability are individuals who have difficulty learning general knowledge as well as adaptive behavior. Adaptive behavior is the way an individual adjusts to the environment. When an individual has difficulty with adaptive behavior, he/she will also have difficulty meeting expectations for personal independence at his/her age level.

Common signs include:

• Learning more slowly, but with time and patience can often
learn new skills and acquire knowledge to the same level as
those without disabilities.
• Has a more difficult time remembering things that
are learned
• Has a more difficult time transferring what is learned from
one situation to a new situation
• Thinks about things in more concrete ways
• Keeps learning and developing throughout life just like
anyone else
• There are different levels of intellectual disability from mild
to moderate to severe; therefore individuals need different
types of assistance in daily living.