Periodic review, updating, and revision are planned. While the guideline represents a positive contribution to the quality of care for children with special needs in Arkansas, recommendations may not be appropriate for use in all circumstances. Decisions to adopt any part of these recommendations must be made by the practitioner and should be based on clinical judgment, available resources, and characteristics of the individual patient. The Panel wishes to acknowledge the work of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Public Health Service, US Department of Health and Human Services upon which this work is modeled. For instance, individuals with IQ scores near 75 may not be classified as having mental retardation if they are able to adapt to the environment.
Mental retardation involves global delays and generally affects all areas of functioning.
As some children present with specific delays or uneven development, the diagnosis of mental retardation is often not applied to very young children. These instruments are administered on an individual basis and the child s ethnic or cultural background needs to be considered before an instrument is chosen. Opportunities for early environmental stimulation also need to be assessed. Mental retardation is generally considered to be a stable, non-progressive condition. For the majority of children diagnosed with mental retardation, their academic achievement and adaptive behavior continue to progress, but at a slower rate than peers.