Mental Retardation
Mental retardation is defined as, an individual with limitations in
cognitive ability and adaptive behaviors that interfere with learning.
Individuals with mental retardation learn at a slower pace, have low
IQs, and may reach a level where learning stops. There are no exact
causes for mental retardation but some things are associated with the
disability. Prenatal development problems, childbirth difficulties,
and a childhood brain injury can all lead to mental retardation.
An individual with mental retardation might have problems in learning
and social skills. Learning problems can include: difficulty making
decisions, short attention spans, and limited strategies for dealing
with changes. Problems they face with social skills are being to
friendly, difficulty labeling emotions, and being wary of new places.
Despite the setbacks and individual with mental retardation can
receive an education and lead a productive role in society.
"I Am Sam" is about a mentally retarded man named Sam (Sean Penn). In...
In the United States 2,193,798 people are held in Federal prisons, local prisons and local/county jails. In local prisons 64.2 % of the inmates have a mental illness, 56.2 % in Federal prisons and 44.8 % in state prisons. Most of the inmates could have prevented their stay at the prisons if they were provided help for their illness, however they were not and they still have to serve their sentenced time. The inmates locked up are abused daily by other inmates or even the officers in charge. They cannot help they have illness and it is not fair that they have to suffer a punishment worse than they already have to. They are tormented and the abuse does not help their situation, the agitation can even make their condition worse, and the treatment for their illness is low quality if there is any at all. They are given harsh punishments or can even have their sentence made longer.
ASD individuals may find it hard to communicate and socialize with others around them. However, because each child is unique, they have their own unique abilities and ways of responding to new experiences. Other issues children with ASD have include; anxiety, sleeping problems, and learning disabilities. Those who are diagnosed with ASD or any other disability are usually judged and bullied. In the documentary Violet’s mother says she is afraid of her child being labeled and underestimated because she is diagnosed with autism. A child’s disability can also affect their family members. Family members may have a difficult time understanding and getting to know the autistic child in order to provide for them. They struggle to find interventions such as treatment and therapy for them, the right medical care, and trying learn to cope with all this. At times parents and caregivers can also feel stressed or irritated knowing they have to fulfill all of the child’s needs. Siblings on the other hand, may find it unfair that the autistic child gets the most attention and
As an overview, schizophrenia is a disease to the brain. It is one of the most disabling and emotionally devastating illnesses known to man. It has been misunderstood for a long time. It has a biological basis, so it is like other diseases. It is a very common disease; one percent to one and a half percent of the U.S. has been diagnosed within some point in their life. There is no cure for this disease, although there is treatable medicine. Schizophrenia is not a multiple personality disorder. People who take medicine for it are able to lead normal fulfilling lives.
The chosen topic related to cultural pluralism is Ableism. Hence, the paper will explain the historical and contemporary aspects of Ableism that will discuss the existing public policy debates related to Ableism. Moreover, the paper will also give some solutions and recommendations to deal with Ableism that could be in favor or against. At last, the paper will come up with the personal opinion related to the proposed solutions and arguments of Ableism.
Schizophrenia is a serious, chronic mental disorder characterized by loss of contact with reality and disturbances of thought, mood, and perception. Schizophrenia is the most common and the most potentially sever and disabling of the psychosis, a term encompassing several severe mental disorders that result in the loss of contact with reality along with major personality derangements. Schizophrenia patients experience delusions, hallucinations and often lose thought process. Schizophrenia affects an estimated one percent of the population in every country of the world. Victims share a range of symptoms that can be devastating to themselves as well as to families and friends. They may have trouble dealing with the most minor everyday stresses and insignificant changes in their surroundings. They may avoid social contact, ignore personal hygiene and behave oddly (Kass, 194). Many people outside the mental health profession believe that schizophrenia refers to a “split personality”. The word “schizophrenia” comes from the Greek schizo, meaning split and phrenia refers to the diaphragm once thought to be the location of a person’s mind and soul. When the word “schizophrenia” was established by European psychiatrists, they meant to describe a shattering, or breakdown, of basic psychological functions. Eugene Bleuler is one of the most influential psychiatrists of his time. He is best known today for his introduction of the term “schizophrenia” to describe the disorder previously known as dementia praecox and for his studies of schizophrenics. The illness can best be described as a collection of particular symptoms that usually fall into four basic categories: formal thought disorder, perception disorder, feeling/emotional disturbance, and behavior disorders (Young, 23). People with schizophrenia describe strange of unrealistic thoughts. Their speech is sometimes hard to follow because of disordered thinking. Phrases seem disconnected, and ideas move from topic to topic with no logical pattern in what is being said. In some cases, individuals with schizophrenia say that they have no idea at all or that their heads seem “empty”. Many schizophrenic patients think they possess extraordinary powers such as x-ray vision or super strength. They may believe that their thoughts are being controlled by others or that everyone knows what they are thinking. These beliefs ar...
Culture has a huge influence on how people view and deal with psychological disorders. Being able to successfully treat someone for a mental illness has largely to do with what they view as normal in their own culture. In Western cultures we think that going to a counselor to talk about our emotions or our individual problems and/or getting some type of drug to help with our mental illness is the best way to overcome and treat it, but in other cultures that may not be the case. In particular Western and Asian cultures vary in the way they deal with psychological disorders. In this paper I am going to discuss how Asian cultures and Western cultures are similar and different in the way they view psychological disorders, the treatments and likelihood of getting treatment, culture bound disorders, and how to overcome the differences in the cultures for optimal treatments.
Autism or PPD (pervasive developmental disorder) is defined by the Columbia encyclopedia as a rare neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by the inability to relate to and perceive the environment in a realistic manner. The onset of the disorder is in infancy or early childhood, generally before the age of thirty months, and males are affected four times as often as females. Symptoms include impairment in social interaction, fixation on inanimate objects, inability to communicate normally, and resistance to changes in daily routine (Anthes, 1997).
There are multiple criteria that come into play when determining a psychological disorder. One reason is because, it is hard to know for sure if an action is abnormal or not. Something could be abnormal in our country, but a custom in another.
Mental illness can negatively affect the chances for successful reentry. According to Mallik-Kane and Visher (2008) study ex-offenders with mental health conditions have more housing difficulties compared to other returning prisoners, had poor employment outcomes, and received less support from families. Thus, ex-offenders with mental health issues may experience greater difficulty in successful reintegration and higher chances of recidivism, especially if services are not provided for their illness. Consequently, G’s borderline personality disorder (BPD) can affect her chances of recidivism therefore, an approach for cognitive behavioral therapy is recommended for a year at Central City Community Health Care.
Matson, J. L., Minshawi, N. F., Gonzalez, M. L., & Mayville, S. V. The Relationship of Comorbid Problem Behaviors to Social Skills in Persons With Profound Mental Retardation. Sage Journals, 30, 496-506.
The name The name of my book is Mental Illness by Gilda Berger. Mental illness is a disorder characterized by disturbances in a person’s thoughts, emotions, or behavior. The term mental illness can refer to a wide variety of disorders, ranging from those that cause mild distress to those that severely impair a person’s ability to function. Today, mental illness is considered to range from such ideas as eating disorders to personality disorders.
In a country based around free will, the United States contains a vast variety of personalities and behaviors. Plenty of people, probably more than we know, exert abnormal behavior. Abnormal behavior is patterns of emotion, thought, and action that are considered pathological. Historically, people blame witchcraft for this eccentric type of behavior and tended to perform exorcisms in hopes of abolishing such actions. Anxiety disorders and personality disorders, two forms of abnormal behavior, can alter a person’s personality as a result of life experiences.
The two movies I choose to compare and contrast are I Am Sam and Radio. In both of these movies the main characters expressed signs of being exceptional learners. In I Am Sam, Sam Dawson, is the main character that shows autistic tendencies accompanied by intellectual disabilities. “The most common syndromes associated with intellectual disability are autism, Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).” (berns peter, 2016). (Nelson, 2002) (Tollin, 2003) (Taylor, 2015) Radio is a young man who is said to have ‘mental retardation’ a term that has been changed to intellectually disabled because of Rosa’s Law. Radio stumbles upon a football practice where his world about to change for the better.
Autism is a neurological disorder that was identified by Dr. Leo Kanner 50 years ago. Autism can affect someone very mildly or severally and it can effect language, communication, and/or gross motor skills. It is the most devastating disorder a child could have and it also is devastating for the family. There is no medicine and no cure for autism but there are glutton free diets that help.
“I am Sam” (2002) is an inspiring melodrama of Sam Dawson (Sean Penn), a young man with developmental disabilities and a single father to Lucy (Dakota Fanning). While the film did not specify the specific condition, it is believed that Sam had a mental capacity of a 7 year old. Sam and Lucy lived a comfortable independent life at a small apartment and were surrounded by supportive friends who also had developmental disabilities. Sam was able to raise and provide a loving and safe environment for Lucy until one day Sam found himself in a courtroom fighting to regain custody of Lucy who was taken away because he was believed to be incapable of raising a 7 year old girl who has a higher mental capacity than him. This movie is truly inspirational,