Understand the mental handicap 

That what is that the mental handicap?

There are several definitions of the mental handicap, among which that of the International Classification of the Handicaps ( C.I.H ) ., that of the Guide Table and that of the Associations representing the persons mental defectives:

• The International Classification of the Handicaps uses the term of " deficiency of the intelligence " disturbances of the degree of development of the cognitive functions such as the perception, the attention, the memory and the thought as well as their deterioration following a pathological process 
  
• The Guide table uses the term of " mental handicap " distinguished from those of " physical handicap " or from "mental illness": " any loss of substance or change of a function(office) or a psychological, physiological or anatomical structure ". Source: your child is different, UNAPEI, on 1993: " guide for the attention of the relatives(parents) of young children mentally handicapped persons ".
  
• UNAPEI: a handicaped person is a separate, at the same moment common and singular person. She is common, because she knows the needs of all, she arranges rights of all and she carries out the duty of all. She is singular, because she is confronted with more difficulties than the other citizens, and who are the consequence of one or several deficiencies. So, the mental handicap is translated by more or less important difficulties of reflection, conceptualization, communication and decisions. These difficulties should be compensated with a human, permanent and evolutionary accompanying, adapted to the state and to the situation of the person. Source: files on the handicaps. Seen again paper Click.

What differences with the Mental illness?

There is very often confusion between mental handicap and mental illness.

National union of the Friends and Family of Mental Patients ( UNAFAM): " the person mentally ill person suffers from confusions of different previous history which soil his(her) mode of behavior in a momentary or durable way, and unevenly grave ".

UNAPEI : " the person mentally ill person is marked by a mental disturbance of her faculties(powers) susceptible to be cured or reduced by means of an adapted therapy ".
Sources: - handicap and mental / Roman disease Liberman - PUF, on 1988: " historic and sociological Approach of the handicap and the mental illness.

What are the previous history of the mental handicap?

• In the conception: diseases genetics, chromosome aberrations, blood incompatibility...
• During the pregnancy: radiation ionisante, viruses, medicines, parasites, alcohol, tobacco...
• In the birth: intellectual suffering of the newborn child, the prematurity...
• After the birth: infectious, viral or metabolic diseases, poisonings, traumatism cranial, accidents of work or the road, drownings, asphyxiations...
  Sources : 
  - the child mental defective - Antoine and Janine Galland - Publishing(editions) Nathan on 1993: " guide has a practice to raise(bring up) a child mental defective of the birth to the adulthood ". - the mental handicap at the child / François Chapireau, Jacques Constant, Bernard Durand - Publishing(editions) ESF, on 1997: " from Wood's method, this book brings a historic lighting, a clinical approach and pronounces on the choices of the politics(policies) of health ". - the said mental/André handicap Michelet and Gary Woodill - Published(edited) Delachaux and Niestlé, on 1993: " synthesis on the search(research) and the evolution of the definition of the mental handicap ". - delays and confusions of the intelligence of the child / Roger Misès, Roger Perron, Roger Salbreux - Publishing(editions) ESF, on 1994: " Presentation of the knowledge on the mental handicap (epidemiology, causes, private hospital, announcement, education, family, development of the child) ". - a life to be lived with the mental / José handicaped persons Davin, Esther Delvin, Viviane Le Polain de Waroux: " it is all the questions of the daily life that are presented in this work ". - who are we? / Roland Lièvremont: " an educator speaks about persons about mental defectives ". - the persons mental defectives. Seen again(revised) Rehabilitation n°396 , 1993).

What are the specific needs of the persons mental defectives?

The mental handicap leads, as compensation, a " help to the decision " or " helps to choose " or " help to the behaviour of its life " which brings an accompanying or an adapted human support. The coverage of this compensation raises(finds) obligations of the company in conformance with the solidarity. From a social point of view, the handicap consists in the limitation of the free exercise of the individual social roles: exercise a profession and a domestic role, form, go and come, choose its place of residence...

For the concerned person, the mental handicap pulls the necessity of having an accompanying and a support adapted to its needs and to its degree of handicap.

Various social, medical, educational and school services are conceived to answer the specific needs of the person mental defective: prevention, diagnosis, premature intervention, assistant to the parents and to the families, the education, the education, the vocational training, the residence, the social integration, the leisure activities, the forming, the economy, the legal protection, the information of the public.

It is necessary to remind that, in spite of the lack of room of reception and support and certain attitudes of refusal, the person affected by a mental handicap needs, arranges rights and carries out the duty of every persons. Besides, she knows one or several handicaps (physical and\or sensory coming to add to the mental handicap) which lead(drive) her(it) to need a compensation which it is up to the community to guarantee to her in conformance with the national solidarity.

What is the representation of the persons mental defectives?

The National Union of the Associations of Relatives(parents) and Friends of Persons Mental defectives ( UNAPEI) is an union of local Associations ( APEI), secondary roads ( ADAPEI), regional ( URAPEI). She(it) was created in 1960.

The Associations which she(it) federates welcome, listen, bring supports, solutions and advices. They create and manage 2700 establishments and services specialized in the reception and the accompanying of 180 000 persons mental defectives (children and adults).

The UNAPEI has for objective to make recognize the dignity of the persons mental defectives. She defends their interests and those of their families. To affect her objectives, she acts with the Government, the parliamentary assemblies, the administrations, the local governments, the social bodies, the European and international institutions.

The International Classification of the Handicaps (deficiencies, incapacities and disadvantages) contains three different and independent classifications, each referring to a specific level of the consequences of the diseases:

• The deficiencies relative to any change of the body or the physical appearance, as well as to an organic or functional abnormality, that she that is the cause;
• The incapacities which reflect the consequences of deficiencies in terms of functional activity of the individual;
• The disadvantages which relate to the damages resulting for the individual of his deficiency or its incapacity.

The zootherapie, please, Acquaint with benefactions of the zootherapie for the persons mental defectives.