Diagnosis of imbecility, dementia, schizophrenia and other forms of mental disorders is possible at the initial stage of manifestations. But unqualified specialists and people without medical education may confuse these concepts. We will understand what oligophrenia is in the degree of imbecility and why this form of mental disorder is more dangerous than others.
Despite the rather rare manifestation of this disease (occurs 1 time in 10,000 newborns), people with a similar diagnosis require increased attention and constant care.
Patients with imbecility
Such patients have noticeable manifestations of mental retardation. They cannot control and evaluate their own actions. They may often talk too loudly or laugh for no reason. The manifestation of loud laughter in such patients becomes not an indicator of joy. Often this is how those suffering from pathology show their uncertainty in understanding what is happening.
The level of mental development of imbeciles is low. IQ ranges from 20 to 50 points. Patients have a small outlook. In the absence of constant control, they can often exhibit antisocial behavior and, from the moment of the onset of puberty, can exhibit sexual promiscuity. But in most cases, such manifestations are unconscious; they are associated with basic physiological needs.
Imbeciles recognize relatives. They are very attached to loved ones, but attacks of aggression can cause harm to the person dearest to them. Patients copy the behavior of others. Due to their high suggestibility, they easily fall under negative influence and may be inclined to perform antisocial actions.
Causes of imbecility
The causes of imbecility include a number of factors that influence the child during its intrauterine development and in the early stages of life.
- The main ones are genetic abnormalities, such as Down's disease and microcephaly.
- The second factor is intrauterine damage to the fetus, caused by hormonal imbalance in the mother.
- If during pregnancy a woman suffered from a viral or sexually transmitted disease, for example, rubella, toxoplasmosis or syphilis, this can also cause the child to become imbecile.
- The reasons why imbecility may develop include the conflict of Rh factors between the fetus and mother.
- The future mother's intake of alcohol and drugs, X-ray radiation doses, and the lack of microelements and vitamins in her diet have a direct impact on the fetal brain.
- After birth, the causes of pathology can be birth trauma, difficult childbirth, asphyxia during pregnancy and childbirth.
- Not least important are head injuries and childhood infections.
- In extremely rare cases, imbecility is not a consequence of mechanical damage or genetic abnormalities. It may be associated with a purely social factor, such as lack of communication with adults. In addition, the development of a child depends on adequate nutrition.
Imbecility in children
Oligophrenia in the imbecility stage, as in other stages, is an incurable disease. Children with mental retardation in the imbecility stage are teachable. They absorb self-hygiene skills well and try to follow all the procedures that an adult shows them.
With regular training, a child suffering from a mild or moderate stage of pathology can acquire a minimum set of knowledge. For example, counting, but only counting specific objects within a maximum of 10, more often 5 units. He can master reading syllables and learn letters. Classes must be carried out on a regular basis. Children with mental retardation at this stage quickly forget the skills they have learned and may deteriorate.
Diagnosis of imbecility
To identify signs of imbecility, a specialist, as a rule, only needs to examine and talk with the patient. The degree of retardation is determined through psychological testing and determining the level of intelligence.
The doctor should also conduct a differential study to rule out schizophrenia and dementia. This stage, like the diagnostic stage, involves special tests. The differences in their results are that in schizophrenics the developmental delay is dissociated, partial, while in patients with dementia, almost all the knowledge, emotionality and rich vocabulary are preserved.
It is more difficult to determine imbecility in young children than in adults due to the fact that the criteria system can only be applied to adolescents and children over 7 years of age. Despite this, corrective measures and assistance in learning and adaptation to society must begin at an early age of the patient.
When the development of psychomotor functions is delayed in the first year of a child’s life, emerging imbecility is difficult to distinguish from the results of poor care and somatic diseases. Profound imbecility can be more accurately diagnosed at this stage of development in children, since they lack basic skills. They do not take objects from other people's hands, grasp them, or hold on to surrounding objects when standing. These children have no response to voice and speech, which is why they may be mistaken for deaf.
Before the age of one year, a specialist can identify imbecility by the child’s characteristic lack of interest in the world around him, monotonous facial expressions and unexpressed emotional reactions.
Between the ages of 1 and 3 years, imbeciles can play. Their games are primitive; they do not understand the purpose of toys and all the objects around them. The perception of information does not occur according to meaning, but is limited to the recognition of characteristic phrases in combination with a certain intonation and gesture. In childhood, the determination of degrees of imbecility may be inaccurate due to the vagueness of their criteria.
Degrees of imbecility
When diagnosing pathology, two degrees of imbecility are distinguished. Their determination is important for developing a therapy program and obtaining disability. Stand out:
Mild, in which the intellectual boundaries according to the Wechsler test vary from 35 to 50 units. The vocabulary of such patients is meager, but sufficient to express desires and needs. Patients are able to master minimal training programs within the preparatory group of kindergarten and primary school. Subjective thinking, lacking the ability for abstract thinking and analysis. Problems with the development of fine motor skills are identified.
Severe imbecility is diagnosed in a situation where the intellectual boundaries according to the Wechsler test are in the range from 35 to 20. Such patients have neurological disorders, paralysis and seizures are possible, motor skills are impaired, and speech is not formed. The state is as close as possible to idiocy. The vocabulary corresponds to the level of a child of 5 years old, the ability to learn is practically absent.
Symptoms of imbecility
People suffering from this disorder have very poor motor skills. Their movements are poorly coordinated, it is difficult for them to carry out the simplest actions, and especially small work that requires attention. Imbeciles are clumsy, often hunched over, stiff, which is especially evident when walking. Facial expressions are practically absent, the facial expression is meaningless, casual, blinking is rare.
Imbecility can also cause defects in body structure. These may be signs such as fused earlobes, irregular skull shape, and deformation of the facial bones.
Focal nervous symptoms are another symptom characteristic of this pathology. A person who has imbecility can rarely master basic self-care skills and, in most cases, neglects the rules of personal hygiene. At the same time, the patient can show great zeal in tasks within his power and be proud of the work done.
Emotionally, imbeciles are monotonous; they show either indignation or joy for a certain reason. Having delved into the essence of one activity, they have difficulty switching to other tasks. Patients with imbecility are characterized by slow sequential thinking and the inability to solve several issues at the same time.
Primitive thinking, narrow horizons, lack of will and concentration do not allow imbeciles to learn. Perceiving the speech addressed to them, the patients themselves cannot communicate in the same way and speak only in laconic phrases.
When changing their usual environment or environment, imbeciles may become stressed due to a complete lack of independence and ability to adapt. They are easily suggestible, do not show their own initiative, and are often obedient and affectionate towards other people.
When and for what reasons does imbecility occur?
Most often, the disorder is formed in the womb. But the signs of imbecility are almost impossible to replace at this stage, so newborn children receive this diagnosis after a full examination in the first weeks of their life.
The following reasons for the development of the described mental disorder in children in the womb are identified:
— Exposure to radiation; — Unbalanced diet, lack of vitamins and minerals; — Pathologies of the endocrine system; — Damage to the womb by chemical elements.
In addition, there are perinatal and postnatal causes of imbecility. For example, experienced cerebral hemorrhage, skull trauma, anoxia, the presence of encephalitis.
Treatment of imbecility
Today, imbecility is incurable and therapy for patients suffering from this pathology is exclusively symptomatic. The basis on which treatment is based is proper education, care for patients and the constant direction of their actions.
Imbeciles cannot be in a school environment that is emotionally and physically overwhelming for them, so they require home schooling. At home, they can master the skills of reading, writing and simple arithmetic calculations.
Imbeciles can pose a threat to society if they are in an antisocial environment. In uncontrolled situations, patients are advised to be hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital.
Since children may have speech defects, they are advised to have regular sessions with a speech therapist and psychotherapist. Medicinal correction is also necessary; nootropic drugs, tranquilizers, and antipsychotics are used for it.
Treatment with drugs is divided into two types: specific and symptomatic. Specific therapy is required for patients with phenylketonuria and other manifestations of enzymopathy. For hypothyroidism, compensatory hormonal treatment is prescribed, for toxoplasmosis - antibiotics, arsenic preparations, chloridine, for brain infections - sulfonamide drugs, antibiotics.
Symptomatic treatment is the use of drugs with a stimulating effect on brain metabolism, B vitamins, psychostimulants, dehydrating and absorbent agents, and biogenic stimulants. Patients who have seizures are prescribed continuous use of antiepileptic drugs.
The earlier the disease is detected and its adequate treatment begins, the more effective it is. Not only the medicinal effect, but also the complex of therapeutic and pedagogical corrective measures is of great importance.
Diagnosis and treatment
To diagnose such a disorder in the body, a number of procedures are used, including MRI of the brain, screening tests, EEG and angiography. Detailed laboratory tests can determine the exact cause of imbecility.
To develop basic human skills and increase brain activity, a number of pharmacological drugs are used, including antipsychotics, psychostimulants, and nootropics. The effectiveness of treatment depends on the primary cause of the disorder, the state of the immune system, and timely diagnosis. In many cases, patients require constant assistance from a psychiatrist.
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Prevention and prognosis for imbecility
The prognosis of this disease directly depends on the degree of retardation, time of diagnosis and initiation of treatment. In most cases, pathology diagnosed at an early stage can be corrected, which allows minimizing intellectual impairment and adapting the patient to society.
The inability to live independently requires careful monitoring from medical institutions and relatives; children need a special home education program or stay in a special school.
Preventive measures are divided into two stages: primary and secondary. Primary prevention is carried out at the stage of intrauterine development and consists of timely registration of a woman with a antenatal clinic, competent management of pregnancy, and early screening studies that allow studying the fetus before its full formation and birth. Secondary prevention is the early diagnosis of pathology in a newborn, correction of mental and intellectual development, measures for the rehabilitation and adaptation of the child to the environment.
