About Intellectual Disabilities

What is an Intellectual Disability?

The term intellectual disability means that a person has limits in their cognitive functioning and skills. These limits cause them to develop and learn more slowly or differently than a neurotypical person. This can cause differences in language, social, and self-care skills. Intellectual disability can be caused by injury, disease, or conditions that affect brain development or brain function. Intellectual disability is the most common developmental disability.

Special Olympics International General Rules state that a person is considered to have an intellectual disability, for purposes of determining their eligibility to participate in Special Olympics, if that person satisfies any one of the following requirements:

1. The person has been identified by a professional as having an intellectual disability as determined by their localities; or
2. The person has a cognitive delay, as determined by standardized measures such as a psycho-educational assessment, intelligent quotient ("IQ") testing, or other measures which are generally accepted within the professional community as being a reliable measurement of the existence of a cognitive delay; or
3. The person has a closely related developmental disability. A "closely related developmental disability" means having functional limitations in both general learning (such as IQ) and adaptive skills (such as in recreation, work, independent living, self-direction, or self-care). However, persons whose functional limitations are based solely on a physical, behavioral, or emotional disability or a specific learning or sensory disability are not eligible to participate as Special Olympics athletes.

Learn more about becoming a Special Olympics athlete

How Does an Intellectual Disability Happen?

Intellectual disability – formerly known as mental retardation – can be caused by injury, disease, or a problem in the brain. For many children, the cause of their intellectual disability is unknown.

Some causes of intellectual disability – such as Down syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, birth defects, and infections – can happen before birth. Some happen while a baby is being born or soon after birth. 

Other causes of intellectual disability do not occur until a child is older; these might include severe head injury, infections or stroke.

What Are the Most Common Causes?

The most common causes of intellectual disabilities are:

Genetic conditions. Sometimes an intellectual disability is caused by abnormal genes inherited from parents, errors when genes combine, or other reasons. Examples of genetic conditions are Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, and phenylketonuria (PKU).

Complications during pregnancy. An intellectual disability can result when the baby does not develop inside the mother properly. For example, there may be a problem with the way the baby’s cells divide. A woman who drinks alcohol or gets an infection like rubella during pregnancy may also have a baby with an intellectual disability.

Problems during birth. If there are complications during labor and birth, such as a baby not getting enough oxygen, he or she may have an intellectual disability.

Diseases or toxic exposure. Diseases like whooping cough, the measles, or meningitis can cause intellectual disabilities. They can also be caused by extreme malnutrition, not getting appropriate medical care, or by being exposed to poisons like lead or mercury.

We know that intellectual disability is not contagious: You can’t catch an intellectual disability from anyone else. We also know it’s not a type of mental illness, like depression. There are no cures for intellectual disability. However, children with intellectual disabilities can learn to do many things. They may just need take more time or learn differently than other children.

How Common Are Intellectual Disabilities?

Based on national population estimates, there may be nearly 51,000 citizens with intellectual disabilities across our province and across all cultural backgrounds. Approximately one to three per cent of the global population has an intellectual disability – as many as 200 million people.