Английский язык учебник

Psychologists identified nine groups of factors that cause or contribute to mental retardation:

–Infection and intoxication

–Trauma or physical agents

–Metabolism or nutrition

–Gross brain disease

–Unknown prenatal influences

–Chromosomal abnormalities

–Gestational disorders

–Psychiatric disorders

–Environmental influences

As we learn more about the causes of mental retar dation, we are in a better position to prevent it. The ob jective here is to reduce the number of children who are born mentally retarded or with conditions that could lead to mental retardation.

Kirk Samuel A; Gallagher. “Educating Exceptional Child”, 1989, pp. 132–144; C.B. Wortman, E.F. Lof tus. “Psychology”. 1988, N. Y. – L., pp. 405–406

COMPREHENSION CHECK

Exercise 1. Say whether these statements are true (T) or false (F), and if they are false, say why:

Exercise 2. Read the text again, divide it into logical parts, and give names to each of them.

Exercise 3. Make up questions to the following an swers.

1.

We feel either overmatched or bored.

2.

When the child processes information too slowly or too quickly.

3.

to compare a person’s behavior with wildly ac cepted social expectations.

4.

as a continuum.

5.

by Alfred Binet.

6.

35–40 to 50–55.

7.

a moderately retarded child can.

8.

because of their marked developmental delays, and, sometimes, their physical appearance.

9.

about one out of every 10,000 people.

10.

to reduce the number of children who are born mentally retarded.

LANGUAGE FOCUS

Exercise 1. Match the English word combinations in the left hand column with the Russian equivalents in the right hand column.

Exercise 2.

A.Guess the meaning and give the appropri ate translation of the following English terminological word combinations.

B.Convey the meaning of some terms above in your own words.

Exercise 3.

A.Fill in the columns with the proper deriv atives of the following words whenever possible.

Exercise 3. Read the text, compare Bob and Carol. Give your opinion of what could be done to help them to fully develop their capa bilities.

Bob is a mildly retarded ten year old. His physical profile (height, weight, motor coordination) does not differ markedly from others in his age group. Howev er, in academic areas – reading, arithmetic, and spell ing – Bob is performing three and four grades below his age group. Depending on his classmates and the levels at which they are performing, Bob would fall at the bottom of the regular class group or be placed in a resource room or special class. Bob’s mobility, vision, and hearing are average, but he is having problems with interpersonal relationships. Although he is a lik able boy under non threatening conditions, he is quick to take offense and fight on the playground. In the classroom he has a tendency to interrupt other chil dren at their work and to wander aimlessly around when given an individual assignment. All of these characteristics add up to a situation in which Bob has only a few friends, although he is tolerated by his classmates. With special help he is able to maintain a marginal performance within the regular class.

Carol is also 10. She is moderately retarded and has a much more serious adaptive problem. Her develop ment is at the level of a four year old (her IQ score in the 40s). She shows poor motor coordination and some minor vision and hearing problems that complicate her educational remediation. Although Carol has a pleas ant personality and is generally even tempered, her physical appearance and her mental slowness isolate her from her age mates. Her developmental profile shows that Carol’s academic performance is well below first grade level; indeed, at maturity Carol’s reading and arithmetic skills may not exceed a first or second grade level. She can learn important skills or concepts

in an educational setting, but the standard academic program is clearly inappropriate for her. To develop her capabilities to their maximum potential, Carol is going to need some very special experiences with spe cially trained personnel.

Kirk Samuel A., Gallagher “Educating Exceptional Child”, 1989, pp. 138–139

Exercise 4. Discuss the following statements with your group mates making use of the ex pressions below.

From my point of view…

As I see it…

Personally, I think I’m afraid it is false…

That goes without saying…

It’s absolutely true that…

I have no doubt that…

1.Everybody was a white crow at least once in his life.

2.It is not an easy task to be different.

3.Being different is not always bad.

4.Intelligence tests are potentially dangerous be cause they are often used to label children for good.

5.Placing an atypical child in special classes for the mentally retarded should be prosecuted by law.

6.Special educational programs of all kinds are indis pensable for children with all levels of mental re tardation.

Exercise 5. Scan the text and do the tasks below.

DOWN SYNDROME

Impressive advances in genetic research over the past decade have revealed much about the mechanisms

by which chromosomes and genes influence or deter mine mental retardation.

Over a hundred genetic disorders have been identi fied. Fortunately, most of them are relatively rare. One of the more common and easily recognized condi tions is Down syndrome. This condition was one of the first to be linked to a genetic abnormality. People with Down syndrome have forty seven chromosomes instead of the normal forty six. The condition leads to mild or moderate mental retardation and a variety of hearing, skeletal, and heart problems. The presence of Down syndrome is related to maternal age, with the inci dence increasing significantly in children born to mothers of 35 or older. According to current figures, over 50 percent of Down syndrome children are born to mothers over 35. We do not know exactly why age is related to the condition. We do know, however, that the mother is not the exclusive source of the extra chromosome. The father contributes the extra chromo some in 20 to 25 percent of all cases.

The effects of Down syndrome extend well beyond the child’s early development. Research now shows that individuals with Down syndrome are at substan tial risk in later years for Alzheimer’s disease and de mentia. Systematic efforts to prevent or control this risk have yet to be made.

Different organs and systems begin to develop at different times. During these times, there are critical periods in which the organs and systems are particu larly susceptible to damage from chemical agents and viruses. The effects of toxic chemicals and disease are not limited to prenatal development, many can affect the brain function of both children and adults.

Our increasing ability to monitor fetal development and the rapidly growing body of research from studies of animals have raised concerns about the effects on the unborn child of substances ingested by the mother. Tera togens (from the Greek, meaning “monster creating”)

are substances that affect fetal development. Drugs (in cluding alcohol) and cigarette smoke are prime examples of teratogens.

We know that heavy drinking by the mother during pregnancy can result in fetal alcohol syndrome – a child born mentally retarded. Lead poisoning is a primary cause of mental retardation and many other disorders in children who are born healthy. Much of the lead that en ters the brain comes through the atmosphere.

The brain begins to develop about three weeks after fertilization. Over the next several weeks, the central nervous system is highly susceptible to disease. If the mother contracts rubella (German measles) during this time, her child will probably be born mentally retarded and with other serious birth defects.

Children and adults are at risk of brain damage from viruses that produce high fevers, which in turn destroy brain cells. Encephalitis is one example of this type of virus. Fortunately, it and other viruses like it are rare. Intellectual development is generally assumed to be the result of complex polygenic inheritance com bined with certain environmental conditions.

There has long been an enormous gap between what we know about the brain and its function, and the set of behavioral symptoms we define as mental retarda tion. With current advances in our understanding of the central nervous system, however, we are able to make some reasonable assumptions about the links be tween that system and behavior. If the development of the nervous system is not preset at fertilization by ge netic factors, the system can grow and change as the individual experiences new things. This means that en vironment and human interactions can play a major role in intellectual development.

Studies show that the families of mildly retarded youngsters tend to come from lower socio economic backgrounds than do the families of moderately retard ed youngsters. These findings point to cultural familial influences as a factor in producing mild retardation.