Throughout human history, numerous definitions have been used to try to explain mental disability.
In antiquity, as in Sparta, for example, children physically and mentally handicapped they were considered sub-human, being eliminated or abandoned. Already in the Middle Ages, the conceptions, dominated by the Christian vision, attributed to people with disabilities the character of demon-possessed, or divine, inspired by God, to explain the differences in behavior. It was also under the influence of the Christian Church that, little by little, people with intellectual disabilities were recognized as “soul bearers” and, therefore, worthy of divine mercy. Thus, the practices of abandonment and murder were replaced by shelter and institutionalization, in a a kind of mixture between charity and punishment, since there were still punishments intended to "cure" or "deliver from bad".
With the transition to capitalism, the vision of mental disability underwent new transformations, relating now to the economic unproductivity of these subjects. Furthermore, moving away from religious conceptions, the idea of mental disability was now based on medical explanations, focused on organic causes and consequences.
In the development of society, numerous other concepts were built on mental disability, dealing with social aspects, educational and institutionalization of people with intellectual disabilities, generating public discussions about the rights and responsibilities of these people.
What is Mental Disability?
As we said, to understand mental disability, we have to resort to all dimensions of knowledge about this condition. Some authors still defend mental deficiency as a phenomenon internal to the subject, others consider mental deficiency as a phenomenon that must also be understood in its social dimension, of devaluation of the medical condition, given the economic production impaired.
For many years, we sought to investigate the causes of mental deficiency, such as hereditary problems during pregnancy, lack of nutrients, hormones, problems in development, in social interaction, in food, among many other factors, known as factors of risk.
However, to this day, there is still a large portion of mental disabilities with no known cause. In addition, the focus of investigations on the cause did nothing to contribute to the understanding of the particularities of each disability, since two people with the same disability diagnosis can develop completely many different.
For some authors, the understanding of mental disability must be done globally, taking into account aspects functional, that is, it is proposed that the possibilities of interaction be the focus of the diagnosis, rather than the difficulties medical. This understanding removes from the person with a disability the burden of impossibilities resulting from intellectual limitation and starts to pay attention to the socialization capacities in adequate support environments.
Is there a difference between mental disability and mental illness?
When a person has severe problems in perceiving himself and the reality that surrounds him, and is unable to decide for himself, he is said to be mentally ill. This condition is quite different from mental deficiency in which, as we have seen, this perception is preserved.
Thus, we can understand as mental illness the framework of significant changes capable of compromising the perception of reality, as in cases of schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorders, bipolar disorder, between others.
To better understand, we can return to the issue of developing the necessary functions for interaction with the environment: na disability, their development is limited, whereas in mental illness, the functions exist, but they are compromised by conditions abnormal psychics.
How is the diagnosis made?
The DSM IV is a manual for diagnosing mental disorders. In it, the definition of Mental Disability comes close to the idea of an inferior intellectual functioning. It is not just a question of a low IQ, in order to characterize mental impairment, it is necessary to identify the impairment of at least two of the following skills: communication, use of community resources, academic, work, leisure, health, safety, self-care, social and interpersonal skills skills, which must be manifested before 18 years old.
Are there ways of prevention and treatment?
As we mentioned, there are risk factors related to mental disability and there are prevention proposals at three levels: the first is to pay attention to problems in pregnancy that can be avoided, starting with a well-done prenatal care, when the mother avoids the consumption of alcohol and drugs, has food and physical conditions appropriate.
The second level of prevention is to reduce or reverse the impact of problems, such as the use of mechanisms and medications that can prevent the progression of complications. At a third level of prevention, however, the development of the individual's capabilities should be sought, as we said, with a focus on skills preserved through stimulation work.
Thus, we understand that purely biological or genetic prevention, or that only considers the prenatal period, does not would be able to reduce the number of people with disabilities or improve the lives of those who have already developed problems.
Juliana Spinelli Ferrari
Brazil School Collaborator
Graduated in Psychology from UNESP - Universidade Estadual Paulista
Brief psychotherapy course by FUNDEB - Foundation for the Development of Bauru
Master's Student in School Psychology and Human Development at USP - University of São Paulo
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/psicologia/deficiencia-mental.htm