Intellectual Disability (Intellectual Developmental Disorder)

Prevalence

• Intellectual disability has an overall general population prevalence of approximately 1%, and prevalence rates vary by age.

• Prevalence for severe intellectual disability is approximately 6 per 1,000.

Symptoms

Intellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder) is a disorder with onset during the developmental period that includes both intellectual and adaptive functioning deficits in conceptual, social, and practical domains. The following three criteria must be met:

• Deficits in intellectual functions, such as reasoning, problem solving, planning, abstract thinking, judgment, academic learning, and learning from experience, confirmed by both clinical assessment and individualized, standardized intelligence testing.

• Deficits in adaptive functioning that result in failure to meet developmental and sociocultural standards for personal independence and social responsibility. Without ongoing support, the adaptive deficits limit functioning in one or more activities of daily life, such as communication, social participation, and independent living, across multiple environments, such as home, school, work, and community.

• Onset of intellectual and adaptive deficits during the developmental period.