Intellectual disability is a condition that limits intelligence and disrupts abilities necessary for living independently. Signs of this lifelong condition appear during childhood. Most people with this will need some degree of assistance throughout their lives. Support programs and educational offerings can help with managing symptoms and effects.
An intellectual disability is when limitations in your mental abilities affect intelligence, learning and everyday life skills. The effects of this can vary widely. Some people may experience minor effects but still live independent lives. Others may have severe effects and need lifelong assistance and support.
A common misconception is that intellectual disability is just a limitation on intelligence as assessed by a simple IQ test. An IQ test is only one piece of information. Some people have an average or above-average IQ but have trouble with other abilities necessary for everyday life. Other people have lower-than-average IQs but also have skills and abilities that are strong enough that they don’t meet the criteria for intellectual disability, or they meet criteria for a milder form of intellectual disability than an IQ test indicates.
In the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition text revision (DSM-5-TR), the formal name for this condition is “intellectual developmental disorder.” Although for many individuals, the exact cause of their intellectual disability is unknown, many cases of intellectual disability happen because of differences in brain development. Less commonly, they can develop because of brain damage from an illness, injury or other events when a person is younger than 18 years old.
Advertisement
Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy
Intellectual disability is uncommon but widespread. Worldwide, it affects 1% to 3% of children. It’s slightly more common in men and people assigned male at birth (AMAB) than in women and people assigned female at birth (AFAB).
The symptoms of intellectual disability revolve around difficulties in different skill sets, including academic skills, social skills and domestic skills. Intellectual disability affects:
“Intelligence” is the umbrella term for your ability to understand and interact with the world around you. It goes beyond the traditional language and math skills an IQ test measures. Intelligence-related symptoms of intellectual disability can mean you have any of the following:
Adaptive behaviors revolve around abilities and learned skills you need to live and support yourself independently. Symptoms of adaptive behavior-related limitations can mean you have any of the following:
Advertisement
Intellectual disabilities can happen for many reasons. Experts also suspect that in many cases, there are multiple causes and contributing factors. Causes and contributing factors can influence the development of intellectual disability before or during birth or during the earliest years of childhood.
Prebirth causes or contributing factors include, but aren’t limited to, the following:
Causes that can happen during birth include:
Causes that can happen during early childhood include:
Many of the differences in the brain that cause or contribute to intellectual disability can also cause or contribute to other conditions or mental health issues. Some of the medical and mental health conditions that can occur alongside intellectual disability (but can also occur in an individual without an intellectual disability) include:
People with intellectual disability due to a specific genetic disorder may also have a higher chance of developing certain health problems related to the underlying condition. Your healthcare provider can tell you more about what conditions your child might have a greater risk of and what you can do to help your child avoid more severe issues.
Advertisement
Diagnosing intellectual disability is usually a process that takes multiple steps. That’s because diagnosing it requires assessing your intelligence and adaptive behavior capabilities. A key part of the diagnosis is understanding strengths, not just challenges. Knowing someone’s strengths can help tailor treatments and interventions to bolster their strengths and help them cope with challenges.
There are different tests and methods that can help with these assessments, depending on your age. Some forms of testing can identify intellectual disability in very young children. But these tests generally can’t identify how severe it is until they’re old enough for IQ testing and a full assessment of adaptive functioning.
When possible, experts classify intellectual disability severity into four categories:
In addition to the tests and assessments for intelligence and adaptive behaviors, many lab, diagnostic and imaging tests can help with diagnosis. The possible tests depend on your symptoms. Testing can help your provider identify the underlying cause, which can help guide treatment.
Possible tests include:
Other tests may be possible, depending on the condition you have or that a healthcare provider suspects. Your provider can tell you more about the possible tests and which ones they recommend.
There’s no way to cure or treat intellectual disability directly. With good treatment, individuals with intellectual disability can have a good quality of life. The treatments focus on helping with adaptive behaviors and life skills.
Treatment types include:
Most of the time, experts can’t point to one specific cause of an intellectual disability. Parents shouldn’t blame themselves when this happens. But it might be possible to reduce your child’s risk when you’re pregnant, or while they’re young, by:
People who have milder forms of intellectual disability or conditions that cause it may be able to recognize some of the differences between themselves and others. However, a key part of intellectual disability is that it disrupts your ability to fully process and understand what’s happening to you or around you.
Because of that, many individuals with intellectual disability can’t fully understand how this condition affects them. Instead, parental figures or other caregivers are more likely to notice the signs and symptoms of intellectual disability in their child or a child of a close loved one.
Remember that your child will still have goals, desires and strengths. It’s important that you help your child identify these so they can live their best life with the proper support.
People with intellectual disability may also be unable to recognize when others are trying to take advantage of them. Support programs can help teach people with intellectual disability to protect themselves, but caregiver support and oversight are vital to their well-being.
The outlook for intellectual disability depends on many factors, especially how severe it is, the underlying cause and any other conditions that happen along with it. Your child’s healthcare provider is the best source of information on your child’s outlook and what you can do to help manage their condition.
Most people with intellectual disability will need some form of support throughout their lives. However, there are programs and organizations that can help along the way. Many people with intellectual disabilities can go on to live independently to varying degrees. Depending on their needs, preferences and desires, many have jobs, families and other components that make up everyday life. Overall, with the correct support, individuals with an intellectual disability can have a good quality of life.
People with intellectual disability may not be able to make informed choices about their own healthcare or other major life decisions. They may need support from parental figures, loved ones or other caregivers throughout their lifetime.
The earliest signs of intellectual disability are sometimes detectable during a child’s routine visits with their pediatrician. A standard part of these visits is the assessment of “ages and stages.” This compares your child’s growth and development to what’s expected at their age level. Keep in mind that there are other possible causes for a child to be behind on their pediatric milestones, such as a physical illness, psychiatric illness or specific learning disability.
If you have any concerns about your child’s development and whether they’re at risk for intellectual disability, talk to your child’s pediatrician. They can help you understand the situation better and offer guidance on what you need to do or can do to help your child.
There are many questions you can ask your child’s healthcare provider that may help you better understand and support your child’s needs. Some of the questions you may want to ask include:
“Mental retardation” and “intellectual disability” both describe the same concepts. However, “intellectual disability” is the preferred term for multiple reasons:
No, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and intellectual disability are distinct conditions. They both fall under the same category of developmental disabilities, but they aren’t the same thing. However, many people have both conditions at the same time.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Intellectual disability is a condition that affects many aspects of a person’s life, but it isn’t the sum total of a person’s being. Education and behavioral support programs also focus on identifying strengths and making the most of them.
If you have a child with an intellectual disability, you may wonder if you were somehow the cause of it. However, intellectual disability is a complicated condition. Multiple factors can cause or contribute to it, so it’s usually not possible to say for certain why it happened (which means you shouldn’t blame yourself if your child develops it). Most importantly, there are numerous support programs and organizations that can help. That way, an individual with intellectual disability has the best chance to have a life that’s as full, happy and fulfilling as any other.
Last reviewed on 05/25/2023.
Learn more about the Health Library and our editorial process.
Advertisement
Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy