Intellectual Disabilities

Intellectual disability (ID) is one of the normal variations in life-span human development. ID is an umbrella term characterized by a narrower than typical range of cognitive functioning, associated with a narrowed range of adaptive, or everyday living, skills. Although these narrowed skills may suggest something distinct from typical development, ID is simply a natural expression of the varied influences on development. Human development represents the results of a broad array of influences from genetic to environmental throughout development. Because of the millions of possible expressions from our genes and the vast variety of environmental influences, human beings have a wide range of characteristics; these include height and weight as well as intelligence. Causes and the life course of individuals with ID as well as ...