IHB to Observe Mental Retardation Awareness Month
Mental Retardation Awareness Month is an annual observance focused on increasing public awareness and understanding of issues affecting people with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities.
The International Hospital of Bahrain (IHB) will join the global observance of "Mental Retardation Awareness Month" in March this year.
Mental Retardation Awareness Month is an annual program focused on increasing public awareness and understanding of issues affecting people with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities.
An Open Day to be spearheaded by the IHB Psychiatry Department will be held on March 8, Wednesday, 7:00-9:00PM at the IHB Lecture Hall. The Open Day will be highlighted with a presentation by popular visiting professor Zainab Bishry, Professor of Child Psychiatry and head of the Nuero-Psychiatry Department at Ain Shams University, Egypt.
Prof. Bishry is also a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and the Royal College of Psychiatrists. She specializes in child autism, childhood depression, OCD in children and adolescence, learning abilities and ADHD.
The Open Day will also feature a talk by Dr. Tarek El Maadawy, IHB Consultant Pschiatrist and Psychiatry Department head.
Mental retardation is defined as a disability that significantly limits both intelligence and adaptive behavior before the age of 18. Although not a physical disease or a mental illness, mental retardation may co-exist with a mental illness and may be caused by a variety of factors, including genetic disorders, problems during pregnancy, problems during and immediately following childbirth, and exposure to poisonous chemicals.
Mental retardation is diagnosed by administering tests to determine skill level within different areas of development. Scoring lower than 70-75 on an IQ test is one indicator of mental retardation; however, it is also recommended that clinicians do additional testing in other areas to ensure accurate diagnosis. Clinicians should keep in mind that children with mental retardation also may have co-occurring or secondary mental health disorders, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and conduct disorder.
IHB hopes to help promote public awareness and understanding of issues on mental retardation and debunked myths and prejudices.
For particulars and to book appointments with Prof. Bishry, please contact IHB on 1759 8200 or email health@ihb.net.
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