Developmental Disabilities

What are Developmental Disabilities
 * a group of conditions due to impairment in physical, learning, language, or behavior areas” ("Facts About Developmental Disabilities").
 * identified before the age of 22 and usually last throughout a person’s lifetime” ("Developmental Disabilities").
 * Types ("Developmental Disabilities")
 * 1) intellectual disabilities
 * characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills ("Definition of Intellectual Disability")
 * for many children, the cause of their intellectual disability is not known ("Facts About Intellectual Disabilities")
 * 1) autism spectrum disorders
 * group of developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges ("Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)")
 * Two Areas ("Autism Spectrum Disorder")
 * 1) social impairment, including difficulties with social communication
 * 2) repetitive and stereotyped behaviors


 * 1) Down syndrome
 * most common genetic chromosomal disorder and cause of learning disabilities in children (“Down Syndrome")
 * Down syndrome occurs when an individual has a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21 (“Down Syndrome")
 * 1) language and learning disorders
 * Language disorders in children refer to problems with either getting their meaning or message across to others or understanding the message coming from others ("Language disorder - children: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia")
 * Learning disorders affect how a person understands, remembers and responds to new information ("Learning Disorders: MedlinePlus")
 * may have problems listening, paying attention, speaking, reading, writing, and/or doing math ("Learning Disorders: MedlinePlus")
 * 1) cerebral palsy
 * refers to any one of a number of neurological disorders that appear in infancy or early childhood and permanently affect body movement and muscle coordination but don’t worsen over time ("NINDS Cerebral Palsy Information Page")
 * cannot be cured
 * 1) vision impairment
 * describe any kind of vision loss, whether it's someone who cannot see at all or someone who has partial vision loss (Salvin)
 * 1) hearing loss
 * associated with any issues individuals may have with hearing
 * described in 3 categories ("What is Hearing Loss?")
 * 1) type of hearing loss
 * 2) degree of hearing loss
 * 3) configuration of hearing loss