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Mental
retardation is a common condition. In surveys in the general population in India
among people of all ages, it has been found that around 2% have mental
retardation. In other words, in a village of 1 000 people, one can expect to
find around 20 people with mental retardation. But if one estimates the
problem only in children, (under 18 years of age) there will be about 3% of
cases with mental retardation among all children under
18 years of age in the same village. Regarding learning disability, a study
by UNICEF in Sri Lanka
revealed that 12% of primary school children had learning disability. Another
report from Sri Lanka
estimated that 15% of schoolgoing children suffered
from some form of disability. A study in children (aged 2-9 years) from Bangladesh
found that around 7% had some form of disability. Mental retardation, the
second most common form of disability, was seen in around 2% of children.
Severe mental retardation in Bangladeshi children (2-9 years old) was
estimated to be around 6 per 1000, in keeping with the reports from other
countries. In 1999, the Planning Division, Department of Mental Health of Thailand
conducted an epidemiological study on mental health problems countrywide and
found that the rate of occurrence of mental retardation was 1.3%.
Mild mental
retardation is much more common than severe mental retardation, accounting
for 65 to 75% of all cases with mental retardation. Looked at in another way,
in a village of 1000 people, of the 20 who will have mental retardation,
about 15 will have mild mental retardation and about five will have more
severe forms.
It has been found
that mental retardation, especially mild mental retardation, is more common
in rural areas, and in low-income groups. Reasons like poor access to health
facilities, under-stimulation, and under-nutrition could account for this
observation.
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