Motormental retardation is delayed or decreased development of both mental and motor skills.

Motormental retardation in children is generally related to significant central nervous system damage or abnormality. The term refers specifically to delayed development of cognitive skills (like speech) and delayed development of motor skills (such as walking).

There can be different degrees of mental retardation. They include not meeting certain normal developmental milestones.

Infants can be born with conditions that cause motormental retardation. Motormental retardation may also develop AFTER birth, when the deterioration of both mental and motor functions is related to disease or accident.

BEFORE BIRTH causes include:

• Asphyxia (insufficient oxygen before or during birth)
• Cerebral hemorrhage (bleeding in the brain)
• Congenital rubella syndrome
• Congenital toxoplasmosis
• Chromosomal abnormalities (excessive numbers or reduced numbers of chromosomes), such as trisomy 13, trisomy 18, trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)
• Abnormalities of the chromosome (with normal number of chromosomes), such as Fragile X syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, Angelman syndrome
• Fetal alcohol syndrome

INFANCY/CHILDHOOD causes include:

• Infection -- meningitis or encephalitis; organisms can include virus, bacteria, or parasites. Some infectious organisms include: HIV, Herpes Simplex virus, toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, listeria, H. influenza
• Trauma -- head injury, shaken-baby syndrome, asphyxia (such as near drowning)
• Non-genetic metabolic disorders -- kernicterus (brain damage due to severe jaundice; causes include Rh incompatibility), hypoglycemia, Reye syndrome, congenital hypothyroidism (untreated)
• Genetic metabolic disorders -- phenylketonuria (if untreated), histidinemia
• Intraventricular hemorrhage (as seen in very premature infants)
• Other inherited disorders -- Tay-Sachs disease, Aicardi syndrome, Niemann-Pick disease.
• Environmental or toxins -- lead poisoning, methyl mercury exposure (Minamata disease)

Home care varies with the cause, type, and severity of retardation.