What Causes Mental Retardation?
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Mental retardation is basically a disorder whose characteristics include cognitive functioning that is below average and deficits found in two and sometimes more of the adaptive behaviors whose onset are before one reaches 18 years. Any condition that can cause impairment to the brain development of the child during birth or as a child grows up can lead to mental retardation. Counted among the causes of mental retardation are genetic conditions. The latter are caused by factors like a problem with the parents genes, gene combination errors and gene disorders caused by infection when the mother is pregnant or even x-ray exposure among others.
Drug and alcohol use when one is carrying a child can affect their childs brain leading to mental retardation. Diseases cause the condition as well and the diseases in question include cytomegalovirus, diabetes, granular disorders, malnutrition among others. At birth, the problems that crop up also cause the mental retardation condition. It is a known fact that mental retardation can be caused any unusual stress at birth can lead to brain injury fore the baby. However, it is low weight at birth and prematurity that is known to cause the mental retardation condition in the new born babies in most cases.
After the birth of the baby, a host of diseases which the baby will contract have the ability to cause encephalitis and meningitis which can then damage the infants brain. Such diseases include chicken pox, measles, Hib disease and whooping cough. Downs syndrome is another major cause of mental retardation. The condition occurs when there are forty seven chromosomes in the cell instead of the required forty six. The extra chromosome usually impedes the brains normal development which leads to retardation.
Out of every eight children that are born, one has Downs Syndrome. Usually harmless in adults, the Rubella viral condition also known as German measles also causes mental retardation apart from vision impairment.
Mental retardation can be caused as well Inherited Metabolic Disorders. The Chromosomes usually contained in human cells contain genes that are tasked with controlling the maturation and growth of the brain. Some of these genes are also involved in chemical reactions whose absence might derail the growth of the brain. If the gene is not normal, then metabolic reactions are deranged and this will cause mental retardation. It is important for a mother to take enough iodine when pregnant as lack of it can cause an Iodine Deficiency Disorder at severe stages. The latter eventually causes hypothyroidism which leads to mental retardation, dwarfism or hearing impairment.
Brain infections that are caused by viruses and bacteria after a childs birth also have the ability to cause mental retardation. Some of the symptoms include vomiting, convulsions, consciousness loss and headache. Poverty, coupled with culture deprivation also causes mental retardation in young children. The reason for this is that children who come from very poor backgrounds often lack proper medical care and are also exposed to malnutrition, environment related health hazards and disease conditions which often cause mental retardation. The children are also deprived of cultural experiences that are often given to privileged children and this can cause mental retardation. Parents should be cautious and avoid factors that can cause retardation when pregnant and while raising their children.
