Intellectual Disability: Definition, Diagnosis and Classification

The way that society sees people with intellectual disability has changed over times. Individuals with intellectual disability have been described using many terms over the centuries and decades. It is important to think about the values that underpin these terms and changes, as these same values also inform the services that support people with intellectual disability and influence how professionals provide support. Those people we call intellectual disability is a disability characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills. In actuality, whom we call people with intellectual disability and where we draw the line between people with intellectual disability and the normal depends upon our understanding and the purpose of our classification. Without a clear and universally accepted definition of intellectual disability, efforts to understand its nature and improve the lives of persons with intellectual disability will be impossible. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to examine the theory and identification of intellectual disability, to explore the limitations of the current system of classification, and to make clear understanding of intellectual disability to the health care professionals. The article found that there are many essential assumptions to the application of the stated definition of intellectual disability; for the useful definition and the essential features of intellectual disability it must be clearly communicated to both professionals and the general public.