Mild intellectual disability

Mild intellectual disability, also known as mild ID or mild intellectual developmental disorder and formerly as mild mental retardation, is a form of intellectual disability characterized by mildly impaired intellectual and adaptive functioning. Mild ID affects about 1% of the global population and is frequently hereditary, but can also be influenced by environmental factors and syndromic causes (such as Down syndrome). Many children with mild ID present as typically developing until school age, when they are often slower to learn than their peers and may have trouble with tasks involving memorization or abstract thinking. Outside of academics, they may also appear socially immature and need assistance with activities of daily living. By adulthood, most people with mild ID will have acquired academic skills similar to someone who has undergone 7-8 years of schooling. Many adults with mild ID can work and live alone, but may need help with more complex activities of daily living such as food preparation, money management, and organizing social events. Mild ID is comorbid with many disorders, particularly developmental. Common comorbidities of mild ID include attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, developmental coordination disorder, and cerebral palsy.

Signs and symptoms

In early childhood, children with mild ID may be developmentally indistinguishable from typically developing children. They can usually understand concepts such as time, distance, money, and avoiding danger, but struggle with memorization tasks such as learning the names of the days of the week or remembering phone numbers.