IQuOLIOC Inc.

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• QP=Qualified Professional
• QP's are individuals who have earned their degree and have experience serving the mental health population.
• QP's are responsible for linking monitoring, arranging, coordinating and advocating on behalf of the consumers who they serve.
• If you are receiving services you should know who your QP is and should feel comfortable with who is in charge of your case.
• If at any time you are not satisfied please contact our Clinical Director to request a meeting to help resolve any concerns you may be having.

• IQuOLIOC provides a Person Centered Approach. What this means is that you should be in control of the services you receive within clinically appropriate limits.
• It is important for you to SPEAK UP! Tell others what it is that you want and what you have found that works best for you.
• Explain to others what progress and recovery means to you. Make sure that the people who are trying to help you know what is important to you and what you want your life to be like.
• Access natural supports that are available to you such as family members, friends, community resources and other non-paid supports. If you do not have any natural supports ask for help wth finding some.
Set your goals and make sure that every person involved is working toward the same goal.

• Mental Retardation is a disorder in which a person's intellectual functioning is well below the average 90-110 intelligence quotient (IQ). A person has mental retardation when intellectual functioning level (IQ) is below 69; there is significant limitations in at least two adaptive skill areas; and the condition has existed since childhood. There are varying degrees of mental retardation. Mental health clinicians have defined four degrees of severity based on IQ score: mild, moderate, severe, and profound.

Mild (IQ range 50-55 to 69) - More than 85% of those with retardation are mildly affected. They often cannot be distinguished from normal children until in school. Although they learn more slowly, people with mild retardation usually can develop academic skills equivalent to the 6th-grade level. As adults, they can lead satisfying lives in the community with minimal assistance.

Moderate (IQ range 35-40 to 50-55) - About 10% of people with mental retardation are moderately retarded. They can progress to about the second-grade level in academic skills. By adolescence, they usually have good self-care skills and can perform simple tasks. As adults, most can work at unskilled or semiskilled jobs with supervision.

Severe (IQ range 20-25 to 35-40) - Severe retardation affects 3-4% of mentally retarded individuals. Severely retarded individuals may learn to talk during childhood and develop basic self-care skills. In adulthood they can perform routine tasks with close supervision. They often live in group homes or with their families.

Severe/Profound (IQ level below 20-25) - About 1-2% percent of retarded people have profound mental retardation and require constant care. Profoundly retarded individuals can understand some language and may have some adaptive communication skills (e.g.: gesturing, pointing, etc.) but they have little ability to talk. They often have a neurological condition that accounts for their retardation.

• Mental retardation can be caused by any condition that impairs development of the brain. It can occur before birth while a fetus develops, during birth or during childhood. Scientists can identify a specific cause in 60 to 70 percent of mental retardation cases. Some cases of mental retardation have multiple causes.

Leading Causes

• The three major causes of mental retardation are Fragile X syndrome which accounts for up to 10% of all cases, Down syndrome and fetal alcohol syndrome.

Before Birth

• Genetic Causes - Genetic causes of mental retardation such as Down syndrome or Fragile X syndrome occur during pregnancy. Other genetic causes of mental retardation are inborn metabolic errors that impair critical cell functions. Although regarded as genetic disorders, chromosomal disorders are not necessarily inherited. Both parents may have normal genes, with the defect resulting from a random error when chromosomes reproduce.
• Fragile X syndrome, the leading cause of inherited mental retardation, is a chromosomal disorder resulting in a weak spot located on the X chromosome which is susceptible to breaking.

• Down syndrome occurs when there is all or part of an extra copy of a pair of chromosomes known together as chromosome 21.

• A variety of problems during a woman's pregnancy can cause mental retardation in a child including malnutrition; use of drugs, alcohol or tobacco; environmental toxins, viral infections and untreated diseases.

• Fetal alcohol syndrome, the most common cause of preventable mental retardation in the US, results from excessive consumption of alcohol during pregnancy.

Problems During Birth

•  Some cases of mental retardation result from problems duringbirth, including premature birth, very low birth weight, and stresses to the baby such as deprivation of oxygen.

Problems During Childhood

•  Complications from infectious diseases during childhood can cause mental retardation as can physical trauma to the brain. Brain damage may result from accidental blows to the head, near drowning, severe child abuse, childhood exposure to environmental toxins such as lead and mercury. Experts believe that conditions of deprivation or severe neglect such as malnutrition, inadequate medical care or insufficient brain stimulation can also be factors.

• Mental illness is not rare, not just something that happens to other families, in other neighborhoods. "One in five individuals is affected by mental health problems at some point during his or her life. Only one is four of these individuals ever receive treatment." (Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health, 1998)
• There is a great range in the type and severity of mental problems. Often people with mental illness can function and make valuable contributions. President Abraham Lincoln struggled with depression, and is esteemed as one of the great U.S. presidents.  Patients and their families must cope with disturbing symptoms as they seek healing and a normal life. All of us are responsible for treating every person, without exception, with respect and compassion.

• Mental illnesses and severe emotional disturbances are biologically based disorders, just like diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

   

• Mental and emotional disorders disrupt a person's ability to think, feel, and relate What is mental illness? Mental illnesses and severe emotional 
  disturbances are biologically based disorders, just like diabetes, cancer and heart disease. 
• Mental and emotional disorders disrupt a person's ability to think, feel, and relate to others. 
• Mental illness is the nations second leading cause of disability after heart disease.

• Twenty percent (20%) of adults, or about 40 million (40,000,000) Americans, experiences some type of mental disorder every 
  year.
• Mental illness is the nations second leading cause of disability after heart disease.  Who does mental illness affect?

• Five percent (5%) of adults, or about 10 million (10,000,000) Americans, have a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, 
  major depression or bipolar disorder.
• Ten percent (10%) children and adolescents suffer from mental illness severe enough to cause some level of impairment.
• Young people between 15 and 24 years old are the age group most likely to experience a major depressive episode.
• Depression in elders accounts for a majority of suicidal ideation, inpatient admissions, medical outpatient visits, emergency room use and medical co-morbidity.
•  Fifty to sixty percent (50-60%) of individuals with severe mental disorders are also affected by substance abuse. This compares with ten percent (10%) in the general population.
• People with mental illness have a higher incidence of medical disorders, including obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

 TBIs contribute to a substantial number of deaths and cases of permanent disability annually.

Of the 1.4 million who sustain a TBI each year in the United States:

• 50,000 die;
• 235,000 are hospitalized; and
• 1.1 million are treated and released from an emergency department.¹

Among children ages 0 to 14 years, TBI results in an estimated:

• 2,685 deaths;
• 37,000 hospitalizations; and
• 435,000 emergency department visits annually.¹

The number of people with TBI who are not seen in an emergency department or who receive no care is unknown.

For more information about TBI in the United States, including the groups at highest risk, CDC’s surveillance activities, and the numbers of TBI cases in each state.

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• The signs and symptoms of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be subtle. Symptoms of a TBI may not appear until days or weeks following the injury or may even be missed as people may look fine even though they may act or feel differently.
  

• CDC estimates that at least 5.3 million Americans, approximately 2% of the U.S. population, currently have a long-term or lifelong need for help to perform activities of daily living as a result of a TBI.
• TBI can cause a wide range of functional changes affecting thinking, sensation, language, and/or emotions. It can also cause epilepsy and increase the risk for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other brain disorders that become more prevalent with age.
  

• Developmental disabilities are a diverse group of severe chronic conditions that are due to mental and/or physical impairments. People with developmental disabilities have problems with major life activities such as language, mobility, learning, self-help, and independent living. Developmental disabilities begin anytime during development up to 22 years of age and usually last throughout a person’s lifetime.

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