According to an article in Disability Scoop, “CDC Study Pinpoints Prevalence Of Intellectual Disability” by Michelle Diament, January 21, 2021, the prevalence of intellectual disability among children is consistent with past estimates, but prior studies lacked details on subpopulations.
The study looked at children’s records and identified them as intellectually disabled if they had “an IQ score of 70 or less or if there was a written statement from a qualified professional indicating that the child’s intellectual functioning fell within that range.”
There are legitimate criticisms of using IQ scores as an indicator of intellectual disability (also called cognitive disability or, formerly, mental retardation), but combined with a consideration of the actual functioning abilities of the child, the label of ID can be useful in confirming eligibility for services and other supports for both the child and the family. When IQ scores are used to disqualify children from the supports or programs they need or to discriminate against them in other ways, then they lose their usefulness and validity. This kind of information, however, is especially useful for state and local agencies responsible for providing educational, vocational, and long term care services for now and in the future.
The study found that 1.2% of the total number of children had IQ scores of 70 or below qualifying them for an intellectual disability diagnosis. The vast majority of children identified — 78% — had mild intellectual disability while 12% were classified in the moderate category and 1% were considered severe or profound.
My two sons have profound ID and function in the 0-12 month range in abilities. IQ tests for them are profoundly useless. If you want to know what makes them tick and what to do to provide them with meaningful activities and a good quality of life, you have to ask the people who know them well and have worked with them.
If you assume the figures here apply roughly to the adult population, it is worthwhile noting that people with severe to profound ID represent only 1% of the 1.2% of the general population of people with ID. That is a small minority of a minority. It should not be surprising that they are not easily compared to people with disabilities with far higher functioning abilities and that their needs will be met in far different ways.
Other findings of the study:
- “Intellectual disability was about twice as likely in boys compared to girls and in Black children compared to white kids. Prevalence also varied dramatically by location with Arkansas at the high end seeing double the cases of Minnesota and Tennessee, which reported the lowest rates.
- “Of the children with intellectual disability, the study found that 39% also had autism.
- “Even though most cases of intellectual disability can be reliably diagnosed before age 5, the researchers noted that almost a quarter of the children studied did not undergo an IQ test until after age 6.”
Furthermore, “The study authors indicated that given the ‘substantial disparities’ seen across racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups, the ‘results could be used to help inform strategies to enhance early access to intervention services to improve quality of life for children with ID.’”
The findings from the study were published in the Disability and Health Journal, available online 15 November 2020, as "Prevalence of intellectual disability among eight-year-old children from selected communities in the United States, 2014".
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