What is MRDD?
The Federal Government and the State of Ohio define a developmental
disability as a severe,
chronic
disability of a person that:
- Is attributable to a mental and/or physical impairment.
- Is manifested before the person reaches age 22
- Results in substantialfunctional limitations in three or more areas of major life activity:
- Self care
- Receptive and expressive language
- Learning
- Mobility
- Self-direction
- Capacity for independent living
- Economic self-sufficiency
While individuals with developmental disabilities have some common characteristics, each
disability
has its own unique traits. Mental retardation, the most commonly known
developmental disability, refers to limitations in the ability to learn and function socially
and varies in degree from mild to profound. While not common to every disability, there are
certain characteristics that increase the vulnerability of individuals with MRDD. These
characteristics include, but are not limited to the following:
- A dependency on others to care
- A tendency to be segregated from others, with little access to resources
- Difficulties with abstract thinking, which could involve difficulty planning and
anticipating actions or the consequences of actions - Difficulties in learning skills or in transfer a concept or skill from on situation to another
- Difficulties in communicating
- Difficulties in interacting socially
- Difficulties in thinking long-term or thinking casually
- A tendency to follow others or be manipulated
- A tendency to be overly trusting of others and anxious to please
- Short attention spans
- A lack of knowledge on how to protect themselves