What causes mental retardation in children?
Mental retardation, sometimes known as intellectual disability or simply MR, is a generalized disorder that usually presents itself before one becomes an adult. Individuals with mental retardation often have impaired cognitive abilities and intelligent quotient (IQ) under 70 years. Although some children are not known with some children, there are several known causes of this mental disability that may occur before, during or after birth. Some causes of mental retardation in children include genetic disorders, environmental factors, trauma and disease.
Many cases of mental retardation in children are caused by problems before the child's birth. For example, one of the most common causes of metal retardation in children is genetics. Some chromosomal disorders that may cause this disorder are often hereditary or running in families.
Down syndrome is one example of such a disorder. This happens when the child is born with extra chromosome. Another example is another condition I knowFragile X syndrome. Individuals with this disorder have a mutated gene on chromosome X. Both of these genetic disorders are often the cause of mental retardation in children. Alcohol and other drugs have proved to be extremely harmful to the development of the fetus. Mothers who drink alcohol expose their unborn children the risk of fetal alcohol syndrome, which is one of the main causes of metal retardation in children.
Insufficient amounts of certain nutrients can also lead to a mentally retarded child. For example, folic acid is essential for the development of the spinal cord and brain. If the expected mother does not have enough folic acid during pregnancy, there is a great chance that her baby's brain will be developing properly, maybe the mental retardation.
mental retardation in children can also be caused during childbirth or delivery. Children born prematurely may have brains that did not have time for the rightdevelopment. In some cases, mental retardation may also be caused by extremely hard work or traumatic head injury during birth.
Head trauma in an infant or small child can also lead to mental retardation, as well as an incident almost drowning. Both situations can lead to permanent brain damage. It has been known that certain diseases such as tuberculosis and meningitis cause mental retardation in children.