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Intellectual Disability and Development Disorders

Code: 102539
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Psychology OP 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
Olga Pont Nesta
Email :
olga.pont@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

Prerequisites:

There are no strict prerequisites for taking this subject. However, it is highly recommended that students should have previously studied the milestones of normal development (including language).

Objectives


  • The subject aims to provide students with knowledge of the following neurodevelopment disorders: genetic syndromes causing intellectual disability, cerebral palsy and language disorders.
  • When the subject is completed, the student will be able to:
  • - Understand and be sensitive to the overall condition of patients who present these disorders.
  • - Identify the behaviour characteristics associated with the disorders studied.
  • - Meet the psychological needs of patients who present these disorders.






Learning outcomes

  1. Recognise and analyse the psychopathological manifestations of each disorder, associated symptoms, and epidemiological trends.
  2. Make diagnoses of psychological disorders in practical clinical cases presented.
  3. Indicate the differential diagnosis.
  4. Differentiate the various methods and tools and their usefulness.
  5. Distinguish the quality criteria of the instruments depending on the context.
  6. Apply assessment techniques for each type of problem and level of complexity.
  7. Analyse the results to develop intervention objectives.
  8. Organize the relevant information of the case.
  9. Write up the results in an operational way.
  10. Select the appropriate vocabulary according to the recipient.
  11. Maintain a favourable attitude towards the permanent updating through critical evaluation of scientific documentation, taking into account its origin, situating it in an epistemological framework and identifying and contrasting its contributions in relation to the available disciplinary knowledge.
  12. Apply knowledge, skills and acquired values critically, reflexively and creatively.
  13. Criticise the effects of personal practice on people, taking into account the complexity of human diversity.
  14. Explain the explicit or implicit deontological code in your area of knowledge.
  15. Critically analyse the principles, values and procedures that govern the exercise of the profession.
  16. Assess the impact of the difficulties, prejudices and discriminations that actions or projects may involve, in the short or long term, in relation to certain persons or groups.
  17. Propose projects and actions that are in accordance with the principles of ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and obligations, diversity and democratic values.
  18. Identify situations in which a change or improvement is needed.
  19. Analyse a situation and identify its points for improvement.
  20. Propose new experience-based methods or alternative solutions.
  21. Weigh up the risks and opportunities of both one's own and other people's proposals for improvement.
  22. Propose new ways of measuring the viability, success or failure of the implementation of innovative proposals or ideas.

Contents

Contents


This subject is structured through the following blocks.


BLOCK A: Concept of intellectual disability (ID). This block will discuss briefly the historical evolution of the concept of intellectual disability and how it is defined today. It is a brief block to establish the basic concepts of the subject


BLOCK B: Syndromes that cause intellectual disabilities. The main disorders that cause ID will be studied, together with its aetiology, symptoms and differential phenotypes, both physical and behavioural. It is the largest block in the subject


BLOCK C: Cerebral palsy and its associated disorders.


BLOCK D: : Mental health and intellectual disability. The most common psychopathological disorders in ID, classification systems


BLOCK E: Assessment .The main assessment tools will be studied.


BLOCK F:Specific language disorders





Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Theory classes 24 0.96
Practical case studies 30 1.2
Practical sessions 12 0.48
Readings related to the content of the subject 80 3.2

-Group Work

-Theory classes with multimedia support. Group size 1/1.24 hours.

-Practical classes in small group. Seminar size. 12 hours.

-Individual work

-Readings related to the content of the subject. 80 hours.

- Practical case studies. 30 hours.

Prohibited use: In this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not allowed in any of its phases. Any work that includes fragments generated with AI will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may lead to a partial or total penalty in the grade of the activity, or greater sanctions in serious cases.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Ev2: 2nd Interim Exam (second assessment period) 40% 2 0.08 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22
Ev1:1st Interim Exam (first assessment period) 40% 2 0.08 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22
Ev3: Practical evaluative delivery (week 11) 20% 0 0 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

Assessment is continuous.

Students who have submitted less than 40% of the evidences will be Non-Assessable (NA).

The learning evidences are all face-to-face, except for the Ev3 that consists in an individual delivery of a practical case exercise.

The subject is failed when students who, having submitted evidences with a weight of 40% or more (evaluable if two or more), have an average grade less than 5.

The subject is passed when, on a scale of 0-10, a minimum grade of 5.0 points and a grade equal to or greater than 4.0 points is obtained in each of the face-to-face assessment tests that have a contribution equal to or greater than 20% of the grade of this continuous assessment. In the event of not meeting these requirements, and any others that the subject may establish, the maximum grade to be recorded in the academic record will be 4.5 points.


Reassessment:

- Students will have the option to make up individual written evidence of learning that has not been passed and previously submitted.

Thus, the students who may be eligible for reassessment are those who during the continuous assessment, have completed the evidence of learning with a weight equal to or greater than 2/3 of the total qualification and have obtained a grade of less than 5 points .

The reassessement will serve to obtain a maximum of 5 for the recovered evidence and can not be used to improve the grade that has been passed by assessment.

The recovery will consist of making the first and/or second evidence in person and in writing. EV1 and EV2 will be open written questions.

In case of passing the recovered evidence, the total mark will be recalculated with the original marks of the remaining original evidences not recovered, taking into account that the recovered evidence has a maximum score of 5.

The single assessment does not differ from the continuous one, in recovery tests.

-It is not expected that students in their 2nd or subsequent year of enrollment will be evaluated through a single, non-retrievable synthesis test.


FEEDBACKEVALUATION ACTIVITIES



Feedback evaluation activities Name and description of evidence Week
Tutoring meeting EV1: 1st Interim Exam (first assessment period) W 9
Tutoring meeting Ev2: 2nd Interim Exam (second assessment period) W 21
Rubrics in the tutoring meeting Ev3: Written report of practical cases W 14


SINGLE ASSESSMENT

The single assessment is requested telematcally (E-Form) during the specific period (more information on the Faculty's website)


SINGLE ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES TABLE
Name and description of the evidence Weighing Duration in hours (of the face-to-face act) Fulfillment /delivery date
EV1: 1st midterm exam 40% 3 h Second assessment period
EV2: 2nd midterm exam 40%
EV3: Deliver practical case exercise 20%





The same resit system as the continuous assessment will be applied.

EXAM TRANSLATION

The delivery of the translation of the face-to-face assessment tests will be carried out only if the requirements set out in article 263 aremet and your request is made in week 4 via online E-Form (more information on the Faculty's website).


https://www.uab.cat/doc/DOC_PautesAvaluacio_2026


Bibliography

BIBLIOGRAPHY

AAIDD (Asociación Americana de Discaoacidades Intelectuales y del desarrollo) (2021) Discapacidad Intelectual: definición, diagnóstico, clasificación y sistemas de apoyos, 12ª edició. TEA Ediciones

AAVV(2006) Síndrome X frágil:Libro de consulta para familias y profesionales. Centro Español de Documentación sobre Discapacidad.

BRUN,C y ARTIGAS J. (2005) Síndrome de Angelman: del gen a la conducta. Ed Nau Llibres Valencia. Colección Logopedia e Intervención. Serie: Patologías.

GARCÍA-ALBA,J., ESTEVA-CASTILLO,S. I VIÑAS-JORNET,M. (2018) Neuropsicología de la discapacidad intelectual de origen genético.Editorial Síntesis

HAGERMAN,R.J i HAGERMAN,P . (2002) Fragile X syndrome. Diagnosis, Treatment and Research. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore.

CABALLO,VICENTE,SALAZAR, ISABEL,CARROBLES,JOSÉ ANTONIO (2015) Manual de psicopatologia y trastornos psicológicos. Ediciones Pirámide

WEB LINKS


http://www.ssbp.co.uk - SSBP: Society for the Study of Behavioural Phenotypes, página de esta agrupación de profesionales dedicados al estudio de los fenotipos conductuales

http://www.ssbp.co.uk/files/syndromes.htm - Aquí encontrareis una ficha con la información relevante de cada síndrome.

http://www.fcsd.org Fundació catalana síndrome de Down

http://www.dincat.cat Página con informaciones, documentos y convocatorias de actividades sobre discapacidad intelectual.

http://www.rett.es AEn la seccinó \"Nuestr@ hij@ Rett\" -Que es el S. de Rett, encontrareis un Manual en PDF del síndrome en castellano muy completo.

http://www.findresources.co.uk Pàgina molt completasobre trastorns neurogenètics

http://www.downcantabria.com/revista.htm Página con muchos articulos específicos sobre el síndrome de Down



Software

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Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 111 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 112 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 113 Catalan second semester morning-mixed