Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: Dawes on 09/02/2006 00:33:35
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Where would I look to find an estimate of how many people on earth are mentally challenged? It is often said, "People should do this or that", have medical insurance, or home insurance, know their credit rating, know their city bylaws, eat from a variety of food groups, read the Bible, use the internet, keep up with breakthroughs in science, evaluate products before purchasing.
George Bush said, 'No child left behind'. Did he mean every child would pass first grade and then go on to pass each grade in turn, and each year of university or techinical institute?
What I am wondering is how many millions are disregarded in political thought and planning and in everyday exchanges. Is it 600,000, 6 million, 60 million? What country would have a population similar to the number of mentally challenged people on earth?
Dawes
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Define what you mean exactly by the term mentally challenged. Mental retardation,inability to learn,low IQ what?
Michael
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People I'm wondering about would be a range from profoundly handicapped up to an IQ allowing them to see to their own basic needs and interact socially, live on welfare but not independently own homes or join the regular workforce.
Dawes
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The only place which would hold the statistics your after is the United nations.
Link below
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sconcerns/disability/disab2.asp
http://www.unicef.org/statistics/
Michael
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Hi Dawes,
i just can't imagine there being the data that you require for the very reasons that UKMicky has cited....how on earth do you determine what is mentally challenged ?....it is such a broad sweeping generalisation that the only data I would think is available are specifics !
Are you interested in finding out just out of curiosity or is it for a project of some sort ?
Men are the same as women.... just inside out !!
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Michael, I will follow both of your links. Thanks for your thoughtful response.
Neilep, I want bring improved analysis / critical thought to statements like "the direction we are headed here..." "families in Canada are....", "it would be a better world if people would just..."
I have an idea that if you asked a number of Canadians to make a stick figure drawing of a family, most would include a white father and mother with one white boy and one white girl. Asked for a description of the family, they would tell you both worked and the children were gaining skill in athletic and performing arts.
Dawes
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Here is an example of someone that is severely mentally challenged:
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Please respond with any questions, comments, or discussion below. Lets just try and keep it clean though, fellas, for the kids sake.
Thank You.
[::)]
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If you take the world health organisations word for it (and I would) there are hundreds of millions of people with mental health problems.
http://www.who.int/mental_health/en/
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If you take the world health organisations word for it (and I would) there are hundreds of millions of people with mental health problems.
http://www.who.int/mental_health/en/
Mental illness & being mentally challenged are totally different. For instance, Spike Milligan was mentally ill (he was bi-polar) but in no sense could he have been referred to as mentally challenged. Then again, there were times when he was totally incapable of functioning autonomously.
I personally know a sufferer from Down's Syndrome who has her own flat, holds down a job (menial, but it's a job), is an active member of her local church and loves playing bingo. Yes, she has support workers, but in the main she lives her own life. Yet many Down's sufferers are just written off as "retarded".
Dawes - I'm not quite sure how Canadians' perception of the family is relevant to this thread [???]