Intellectual Disability (Mental Retardation) in Children and Adolescents

Mental retardation or MR (current term, intellectual disability [ID]) is a label used to describe a constellation of symptoms that includes severe deficits or limitations in an individual's developmental skills in several areas or domains of function: cognitive, language, motor, auditory, psychosocial, moral judgment, and specific integrative adaptive (ie, activities of daily living). This article reviews concepts of ID in children and adolescents useful for the primary care clinician who cares for these individuals. The majority of youth with ID can live independent or semi-independent lives as adults if they have received the appropriate personalized support over a sustained period of their lives, especially during the formative years.