DE LA SUSTANCIACIÓN DE LA APELACIÓN

 EXCEPTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

 Every child is unique to himself, in personality traits, in cognitive abilities, in physical stature, in emotional stability, and others. Among children, these differences are highly

noticeable. Even in the aspect of learning some children are fast learner, those gifted with exceptional intellectual capabilities and some are slow, those who function at significantly lower intellectual levels.

A. Intellectually Gifted

 An IQ score above 130 signal intellectual giftedness. Even among the gifted children, there can be difficulties in learning attributed to language impairments and reading disabilities.

 General Behavior Characteristics

 Gifted children's behavior differs from that of their age-mates in the following ways: 1. Many gifted children learn to read early, with better comprehension of the nuances of language. As much as half the gifted and talented population has learned to read before entering school.

2. Gifted children often read widely, quickly, and intensely and have large vocabularies.

3. Gifted children commonly learn basic skills better, more quickly, and with less practice.

4. They are better able to construct and handle abstractions.

5. They often pick up and interpret nonverbal cues and can draw inferences that other children need to have spelled out for them.

6. They take less for granted, seeking the "hows" and "whys."

7. They can work independently at an earlier age and can concentrate for longer periods.

8. Their interests are both wildly eclectic and intensely focused.

9. They often have seemingly boundless energy, which sometimes leads to a misdiagnosis of hyperactivity.

10.They usually respond and relate well to parents, teachers, and other adults. They may prefer the company of older children and adults to that of their peers.

11.They like to learn new things, are willing to examine the unusual, and are highly inquisitive.

12.They tackle tasks and problems in a well-organized, goal-directed, and efficient manner.

13.They exhibit an intrinsic motivation to learn, find out, or explore and are often very persistent. "I'd rather do it myself" is a common attitude.

 Learning Characteristics

 Gifted children are natural learners who often show many of these characteristics: 1. They may show keen powers of observation and a sense of the significant; they have

an eye for important details.

2. They may read a great deal on their own, preferring books and magazines written for children older than they are.

3. They often take great pleasure in intellectual activity.

4. They have well-developed powers of abstraction, conceptualization, and synthesis. 5. They readily see cause-effect relationships.

6. They often display a questioning attitude and seek information for its own sake as much as for its usefulness.

7. They are often skeptical, critical, and evaluative. They are quick to spot inconsistencies.

8. They often have a large storehouse of information about a variety of topics, which they can recall quickly.

9. They readily grasp underlying principles and can often make valid generalizations about events, people, or objects.

10.They quickly perceive similarities, differences, and anomalies.

11.They often attack complicated material by separating it into components and analyzing it systematically.

 Gifted children's creative abilities often set them apart from their age-mates. These characteristics may take the following forms:

1. Gifted children are fluent thinkers, able to generate possibilities, consequences, or related ideas.

2. They are flexible thinkers, able to use many different alternatives and approaches to problem solving.

3. They are original thinkers, seeking new, unusual, or unconventional associations and combinations among items of information.

4. They can also see relationships among seemingly unrelated objects, ideas, or facts. 5. They are elaborate thinkers, producing new steps, ideas, responses, or other

embellishments to a basic idea, situation, or problems.

6. They are willing to entertain complexity and seem to thrive on problem solving. 7. They are good guessers and can readily construct hypotheses or "what if" questions. 8. They often are aware of their own impulsiveness and irrationality, and they show

emotional sensitivity.

9. They are extremely curious about objects, ideas, situations, or events.

10.They often display intellectual playfulness and like to fantasize and imagine.

11.They can be less intellectually inhibited than their peers are in expressing opinions and ideas, and they often disagree spiritedly with others' statements.

12.They are sensitive to beauty and are attracted to aesthetic values.

B. Intellectually Deficit

 An IQ score below 70 in intelligence testing indicates mental retardation visibly demonstrated by the child’s inability to cope with appropriate activities of everyday life.

1. MENTAL RETARDATION

 The conceptualization of mental retardation includes deficits in cognitive abilities as well as in behaviors required for social and personal sufficiency, known as adaptive functioning.

 Measures of adaptive function assess competency in performance of everyday tasks, whereas measures of intellectual function focus on cognitive abilities.

 According to the DSM-IV-TR, mental retardation is defined as significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning resulting in, or associated with, concurrent impairment in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, before the age of 18. Term significantly subaverage is defined as an IQ of approximately 70.

 The diagnosis is made regardless of whether the person has a coexisting physical disorder or other mental disorder.

 Degrees of Mental Retardation

1) Mild mental retardation - (IQ range, 50 to 70) represents approximately 85 percent of persons with mental retardation. Many adults with mild mental retardation can live independently with appropriate support and raise their own families.

2) Moderate mental retardation - (IQ range, 35-50) represents about 10 percent of persons with mental retardation. They are challenged academically and often are not able to achieve academically above a second to third grade level. As adults, persons with moderate mental retardation may be able to perform semiskilled work under appropriate supervision. 3) Severe mental retardation - (IQ range, 20-35) comprises about 4 percent of individuals with mental retardation. In adulthood, persons with severe mental retardation may adapt well to supervised living situations, such as group homes, and may be able to perform work-related tasks under supervision.

4) Profound mental retardation - (IQ range below 20) constitutes approximately 1 to 2 percent of persons with mental retardation. Most individuals with profound mental retardation have identifiable causes for their condition. Children with profound mental retardation may be taught some self-care skills and learn to communicate their needs given the appropriate training.

• Borderline intellectual functioning, according to DSM-IV-TR, is not within the diagnostic boundary of mental retardation and refers to a full-scale IQ in the 71 to 84 range that is a focus of psychiatric attention.

• The DSM-IV-TR lists mental retardation, severity unspecified, as a type reserved for persons who are strongly suspected of having mental retardation, but who cannot be tested by standard intelligence tests or are too impaired or uncooperative to be tested. • This type may be applicable to infants whose significantly subaverage intellectual

functioning is clinically judged but for whom the available tests (e.g., Bayley Scales of Infant Development and Cattell Infant Scale) do not yield numerical IQ values.

• This type should not be used when the intellectual level is presumed to be above 70. • Prevalence- 1% to 3%.

• Highest incidence- school-age children with the peak at the ages 10 to 14 years. • 1.5 times more common among men than among women.

COMORBIDITY Prevalence

DOWN SYNDROME

 is a genetic condition that causes delays in physical and intellectual development. It occurs in approximately one in every 800 live births. Individuals with Down syndrome have 47 chromosomes instead of the usual 46. It is the most frequently occurring chromosomal disorder. Down syndrome is not related to race, nationality, religion or socioeconomic status. The most important fact to know about individuals with Down syndrome is that they are more like others than they are different.

 Diagnosis

 Down syndrome is usually identified at birth or shortly thereafter. Initially the diagnosis is based on physical characteristics that are commonly seen in babies with Down syndrome. These include low muscle tone, a single crease across the palm of the hand, a slightly flattened facial profile and an upward slant to the eyes. The diagnosis must be confirmed by a chromosome study (karyotype). A karyotype provides a visual display of the chromosomes grouped by their size, number and shape. Chromosomes may be studied by examining blood or tissue cells.

 Cause

 Down syndrome is usually caused by an error in cell division called nondisjunction. It is caused by a deviation in the set of chromosomes labeled number 21. It is not known why this occurs. However, it is known that the error occurs at conception and is not related to anything the mother did during pregnancy. It has been known for some time that the incidence of Down syndrome increases with advancing maternal age. However, 80% of children with Down syndrome are born to women under 35 years of age.

 Health Issues

 Many children with Down syndrome have health complications beyond the usual childhood illnesses. Approximately 40% of the children have congenital heart defects. It is very important that an echocardiogram be performed on all newborns with Down syndrome in order to identify any serious cardiac problems that might be present. Some of the heart conditions require surgery while others only require careful monitoring. Children with Down syndrome have a higher incidence of infection, respiratory, vision and hearing problems as well as thyroid and other medical conditions. However, with appropriate medical care most children and adults with Down syndrome can lead healthy lives. The average life expectancy of individuals with Down syndrome is 55 years, with many living into their sixties and seventies.

 Learning & Development

 It is important to remember that while children and adults with Down syndrome experience developmental delays, they also have many talents and gifts and should be given the opportunity and encouragement to develop them. Most children with Down syndrome have mild to moderate impairments but it is important to note that they are more like other children than they are different. Early Intervention services should be provided shortly after birth. These services should include physical, speech and developmental therapies. Most children attend their neighborhood schools, some in regular classes and others in special education classes. Some children have more significant needs and require a more specialized program. Some high school

graduates with Down syndrome participate in post-secondary education. Many adults with Down syndrome are capable of working in the community, but some require a more structured environment.

 Types of Down Syndrome

 There are 3 chromosomal patterns that result in Down syndrome:

1. Trisomy 21 (nondisjunction) is caused by a faulty cell division that results in the baby having three #21 chromosomes instead of two. Prior to or at conception, a pair of #21 chromosomes in either the egg or the sperm fails to separate properly. The extra chromosome is replicated in every cell of the body. Ninety five percent of all people with Down syndrome have Trisomy 21.

2. Translocation accounts for only 3% to 4% of all cases. In translocation a part of chromosome #21 breaks off during cell division and attaches to another chromosome. The presence of an extra piece of the 21st chromosome causes the characteristics of Down syndrome. Unlike Trisomy 21, which is the result of random error in the early cell division, translocation may indicate that one of the parents is carrying chromosomal material that is arranged in an unusual manner. Genetic counseling can be sought to ascertain more information when these circumstances occur.

3. Mosaicism occurs when nondisjunction of chromosome #21 takes place in one of the initial cell divisions after fertilization. When this happens, there is a mixture of two types of cells, some containing 46 chromosomes and some with 47. The cells with 47 chromosomes contain an extra 21st chromosome. Because of the “mosaic” pattern of the cells, the term mosaicism is used. This type of Down syndrome occurs in only one to two percent of all cases of Down syndrome. Regardless of the type of Down syndrome a person may have, a critical portion of the 21st chromosome is present in all or some of their cells. This additional genetic material alters the course of development and causes the characteristics associated with the syndrome.

 Treatments

 There is no single, standard treatment for Down syndrome. Treatments are based on each individual's physical and intellectual needs as well as his or her personal strengths and limitations.1 _{People with Down syndrome can receive proper care while living at home and in the}

community. Treatment includes:

a. Early Intervention and Educational Therapy b. Treatment Therapies

c. Drugs and Supplements d. Assistive Devices

2. TURNER SYNDROME

 is a chromosome abnormality found in females in which secondary sex characteristics are developed only with the administration of female hormones.

 The most common feature of Turner syndrome is short stature, which becomes evident