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Staff Reporter http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?section=health&xfile=/data/health/2013/October/health_October13.xml Unlike the common perception, people with mental retardation are as prone to have common mental illnesses as others DUBAI — People with mental retardation often are poorly understood and are victims of stigma by the society. They are often feared and ridiculed by others, explains Dr Subas Chandra Pradhan, Specialist Psychiatrist, Zulekha Hospital, Sharjah. Unlike the common perception, people with mental retardation are as prone to have common mental illnesses as others. They also exhibit the common human emotions as often as any of their intellectually gifted counterparts. They have a limited vocabulary and lack a proper language of distress making them unable to express themselves clearly to the mainstream society. The answer is not to be scared of them or ridicule them but to understand them and have a compassionate attitude towards them. Except a segment of profoundly intellectually disabled people, most with intellectual disability are trainable and can potentially become contributing members to our society. Dr Subhas narrated a story he had witnessed. He came along with his caretaker. She was concerned as he was getting out of control. He had physically assaulted some of the staff members over trifles within last few days. I wanted to hear the story in detail. At 22, Sam Smith was a heavily built muscular young man. He was born prematurely and had bouts of fits as a child that necessitated constant supervision. This often tested his parent’s patience. He could not speak until five years and could not compete with the students similar to his age. He had to go to a special school. His family in spite of their best intentions was simply unable to look after him. At the supported accommodation, he had a very limited friends circle and generally avoided people as he did not know what to say next after the preliminaries. Things however began to change when Melissa, a young autistic lady, joined there. She had a chromosomal defect and had low intelligence. She had an associated heart disease. Sam took a liking towards her. It might have been reciprocal but we would never know it for sure as Melissa was incapable of expressing herself well verbally. But speech was not a necessary obstacle for them. Sam was a happy man! Then something awful happened. Melissa was found dead! She had a massive heart attack, possibly a sequel to her genetic disorder. It was a shock for everyone in the supported accommodation and dominated the discussion for weeks. Sam had however no visible effects of bereavement on him. Or that’s what everyone thought. During the interview, he was almost monosyllabic in his response to my questions. “How do you feel?” “OK” “Are you sad?” “Yes” “Why”? “I don’t know” “How can I help you?” “I don’t know” Then he became restless almost on the verge of crying. He clenched his fists and his face tightened. It was a tell tale sign of what was coming next and it did come in the form of a punch. The caregiver intervened although I guess she might have been secretly happy that at least now I have a solid reasons believe her story! What happened minutes later were more surprising than what had happened minutes before. He stood silently there for a while with pain written all over his face. There was a palpable tension in the air. Then he uttered a single word: “Sorry”. For a person with limited vocabulary Sam could not have found a better word. As he was saying that I noticed his eyes watering and a small streak of tears rolling down his cheek as if validating his feelings. It was one of the most sincere apologies I ever had in my life and most meaningful. news@khaleejtimes.com