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Children who are mentally retarded, even mildly so, are thinking
and usually using language at a level much lower than would be
expected for their age. There are so many areas of thought, including
reasoning, memory, and flexibility, that it takes a psychologist
to diagnose mental retardation. Still, a valid clue would be that
the child is talking, acting, and, based on the child's responses,
consistently thinking like a younger child, despite not having
been seriously overprotected.
Mistakenly assuming a child is "retarded" may occur
when an adult judges from a child's lack of communication that
the child does not understand. The child just may be stubborn,
shy, or have trouble with language expression specifically. School
performance is also not necessarily indicative of a cognitive
problem. For example, a child's low grades may be due to inattention
in class, which may or may not be a symptom of emotional distress.
Furthermore, while thinking slowly is a characteristic of the
mentally retarded, it may also be true of the non-retarded. The
difference is that the non-retarded child learns and understands
more complicated ideas.
Talk to someone who can help. If you would like the name of a
qualified psychologist in your area, please try our Psychologist
Locator.
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