Symptoms of Intellectual Disability in Children

May 05, 2022 Source: Cainiu Health

Dr. Zhang Weiling

Introduction

Difficulty feeding (e.g., inability to suckle) and frequent spitting up or vomiting may indicate neurological impairment, potentially affecting future cognitive development. Abnormal facial features: Some infants with congenital intellectual disability exhibit distinctive facial or physical characteristics. Delayed language development: Children with intellectual disability often show language delays—ranging from four to five months to as long as one to two years—compared to typical developmental milestones. Additionally, a lack of attention to or engagement with adults during verbal interaction should also be regarded as a potential sign of intellectual delay.

High-risk factors for intellectual disability in children include advanced maternal age, consanguineous marriage, a family history of intellectual disability, maternal infection during early pregnancy, abnormal delivery, or severe illness after birth. Specific symptoms are as follows:

① Feeding difficulties

These commonly appear during infancy. Difficulty feeding—such as poor or absent sucking reflex and frequent spitting up—is often the earliest sign of intellectual disability in infants, indicating possible neurological impairment that may adversely affect future cognitive development.

② Abnormal facial features

Some infants with congenital intellectual disability exhibit distinctive facial and physical characteristics. They may appear expressionless and unresponsive; whereas typically developing infants begin attending to their surroundings by one month of age, children with intellectual disability show little interest in people or objects around them. For example, children with Down syndrome often display widely spaced eyes, upward-slanting palpebral fissures, a flattened nasal bridge, protruding tongue, and excessive drooling.

③ Delayed language development

In typically developing infants, vocal imitation begins at 7–8 months; “mama” and “dada” emerge around 12 months; approximately 10 words are spoken by 18 months, along with comprehension of simple commands; basic questioning appears around age 2; and by age 3, children can generally express their thoughts coherently. In contrast, children with intellectual disability may lag behind by 4–5 months—or even 1–2 years—in achieving these milestones. Additionally, failure to attend to speech directed toward them should also be regarded as an early warning sign of intellectual delay.

View All

Which is more severe: cerebral palsy or intellectual disability?

Cerebral palsy generally refers to a group of non-progressive disorders affecting movement and posture due to abnormal development or damage to the brain in a fetus or infant. Intellectual disability typically refers to impaired intellectual functioning. Under normal circumstances, cerebral palsy is more severe than intellectual disability. Cerebral palsy is characterized by persistent central motor and postural developmental disorders and limitations in activity, resulting from non-progressive brain injury during development. Patients commonly exhibit symptoms such as intellectual impairment and epilepsy.