Characteristics of Intellectual Disabilities
Mild Characteristics
Area__________________________________________________________________
Attention __________________________________________________________________ Metacognition __________________________________________________________________ Memory __________________________________________________________________ Generalization Learning __________________________________________________________________ Motivational Considerations __________________________________________________________________ Cognitive Development __________________________________________________________________ Language Development __________________________________________________________________ Academic Development __________________________________________________________________ Social-Behavioral Interactions __________________________________________________________________ Social Responding __________________________________________________________________ |
Potential Difficulties__________________________________________________________________
- Attention span - Focus - Selective attention __________________________________________________________________ - Strategies assisting learning - Organizing new information __________________________________________________________________ - Short-term memory (more common) - Long-term memory (mostly students without any disability) __________________________________________________________________ - Applying knowledge of skills to tasks - Using previous experience to formulate rules that will help solve problems of similar nature __________________________________________________________________ - External locus of control - Outerdirectedness - Low expectations by others - Failure set __________________________________________________________________ - Engaging in abstract thinking - Symbiotic Thought __________________________________________________________________ - Difficulty with receptive and expressive language - Delayed acquisition of vocabulary and rules of language - Articulation of thoughts and feelings - Possible interaction of cultural variance and language dialects __________________________________________________________________ - Delayed acquisition of reading, writing, and math - Decoding of test - Reading comprehension - Math computation - Math problem-solving - Self-directed expressive writing __________________________________________________________________ - Classroom behavior - Peer acceptance - Appropriate display of emotions __________________________________________________________________ - Social perception - Gullibility - Suggestibility - Acquiescence and desire to please - Masking disability __________________________________________________________________ |
Severe Characteristics
- Need for extensive and ongoing supports (this is shared by all students with a severe intellectual disability)
- Adaptive behavior difficulties
- Limited academic skills
- Significant need for social skills development
- Difficulty with generalizing knowledge and skills
- Challenges with metacognition
- Language development delays
- Possible memory problems
- Adaptive behavior difficulties
- Limited academic skills
- Significant need for social skills development
- Difficulty with generalizing knowledge and skills
- Challenges with metacognition
- Language development delays
- Possible memory problems
* It is difficult to characterize students with an intellectual disability because there is a very diverse group of individuals identified
(Smith, Polloway & Patton, 2012)
(Smith, Polloway & Patton, 2012)