Clinical Practice Guidelines for Assessment and Management of intellectual disability.

Abstract

Mental retardation is a developmental disorder and is associated with significant limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviors. Currently, it is widely referred to as “intellectual disability (ID)” and “intellectual developmental disorders (IDDs).” In India, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (2016) has introduced the term “intellectual disability” in the place of “mental retardation.” However, India being a signatory country to the World Health Organization (WHO), where the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10) guidelines are adopted in the clinical practice, the term “mental retardation” is still in clinical use (The WHO Working Group on the Classification of Intellectual Disabilities has recommended replacing the term “mental retardation” with “IDD” in ICD-11 [Salvador-Carulla et al., 2011]. Thus, both the terms, intellectual disability and mental retardation, are in use in India. Despite variation in the terminology and the differences in the criteria for diagnosis (e.g., ICD-10; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition [DSM-5]) and assessment of disability (as notified in the guidelines in January 2018, which are based on the RPD Act), it is commonly agreed that significant impairments in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior during the developmental period is the hallmark of the condition [Table 1]. Table 1 Terminology and conceptual issues related to intellectual disability among different diagnostic systems