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| | mental disability - Hutchinson encyclopedia article about mental disability |
 | | Between 90 and 130 million people in the world suffer from such disabilities. |
 | | Clinically, mental disability is graded as profound, severe, moderate, or mild, roughly according to IQ and the sufferer's ability to cope with everyday tasks. |
 | | Among its many causes are genetic defect (phenylketonuria), chromosomal errors (Down's syndrome), infection before birth (rubella) or in infancy (meningitis), trauma (brain damage at birth or later), respiratory difficulties at the time of birth, toxins (lead poisoning), physical deprivation (lack of, or defective, thyroid tissue, as in cretinism), and gross psychological deprivation. |
| encyclopedia.farlex.com /mental+disability (220 words) |
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