DIVERSASIA - Best practices

Intellectual Disability can be caused by any condition which hampers development of the brain before or during birth and in childhood. Brain damages occurring in the adult age are defined with reference to the specific area or function damaged (aphasia, agnosia, problem-solving, or comprehension deficit, etc.) at any time in life. Several hundred causes have been discovered (though about one-third of the affected remain unaware of the cause): genetic conditions, troubles during pregnancy, problems at or after birth, poverty, and cultural deprivation. Three major causes of mental retardation are Down’s syndrome, Foetal Alcohol syndrome, and Fragile X. ‘Mental retardation’ is a term applied to a person with certain limitations in mental functioning and in such skills as communication, taking care of himself/herself, and social. These limitations prevent a child from learning and developing as a typical child. Children with mental retardation may take longer to learn to speak, walk, and take care of their personal needs, e.g. dressing or eating. They are likely to have trouble learning in school, and there may be some things they are unable to learn. The level of severity of such impairment is assessed by the standardized psychological tests (IQ measurement); it goes from a profound (IQ = 20-25) to a mild (IQ = 55-70) level. While students with mild or at most moderate degree of mental retardation can profitably approach educational and assistive technologies, the use of AT in the case of a severe mental retardation must be carefully evaluated and planned with regard to both the accessibility and educational objectives; positive experiences in this sense are, nevertheless, described in the scientific literature. The computer can be a good starting point to motivate the students with cognitive impairments to learn, since it is considered to be a typical tool of adults and VIPs; it can promote the learning process and the acquisition of basic abilities, increase motivation and self-esteem. However students with cognitive impairments facing the IT tools meet some obstacles in how to use the device. As Cook & Hussey stress, “it is generally not our goal to make things simpler for someone with a cognitive deficit, but to make them different.”