Developmental disability is a diverse group of severe chronic conditions that are due to mental and/or physical impairments. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, especially in “language, mobility, learning, self-help, and independent living”. Developmental disabilities can be detected early on, and do persist throughout an individual’s lifespan.
Most common developmental disabilities:
1. Fragile X syndrome (FXS) causes autism and intellectual disability among boys.
2. Down syndrome is a condition in which people are born with an extra chromosome. Normally a person is born with 46 chromosomes. But however if they’re born with Down syndrome, it means they have an extra copy of one of these chromosomes. This extra copy changes the body’s and brain’s normal development and causes mental and physical struggles for the individual.
3. Pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) are a group of developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication and behavioural challenges.
4. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are a group of conditions that can occur in a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. FASDs are 100% preventable if a woman does not drink alcohol during pregnancy.
5. Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. CP is the most common motor disability in childhood.
6. Mental retardation is defined as an IQ below 70 along with limitations in adaptive functioning and onset before the age of 18 years.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developmental_disabilities
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