• P.Magdalene Virjini
• Dr. R.Jagan Mohan

Nutritional status is of paramount importance for the intellectually disabled children attending special school. Poor nutritional status may have a devastating effect not only on the health but also on the education and scholastic achievements. The aim of the study is to assess the nutritional status of the intellectually disabled children in terms of the physical and biochemical parameters. A cross sectional study was conducted on 338 intellectually disabled children aged 9-16 years attending special school located in an urban area. Among the total samples of 338, 227 children were boys and 111were girls. The physical parameters height, weight for age and body mass index was determined. Blood hemoglobin concentration was estimated. Head to foot assessment was also carried out to find the clinical signs and symptoms of any nutritional deficiencies. The results revealed that, the mean height of 46.7% (106) boys and 56.8% (63) girls were below the ICMR standard. The weight of boys and girls below ICMR standard were 78% (177 boys) and 67.6% (75 girls) respectively. Among the subjects studied 58% percent of the children were found to be underweight. Overweight, obesity and normal body mass index was observed in 6.8%, 5.6% and 29.6% respectively. Significant difference was observed in BMI when compared with age and gender. The mean haemoglobin level was less than the standard in both boys and girls. Among the clinical signs observed 51.5% of the children had dental caries followed by 50.9% dermatosis, 43.8% pale eyelids, 41.1% follicular hyper keratosis, 30.2 % sore tongue, 22% bleeding gums and 21% spoon shaped nails. The prevalence of anaemia was more among the disabled children. A decline in the anthropometric parameters was observed in the children and the results clearly indicated a poor nutritional status among the disabled children. Thus the study has proved that, the prevalence of malnutrition was high among intellectually disabled children and adequate nutritional support can definitely enhance their quality of life.

Intellectual disability, Nutrition status, Anaemia, Special school

"Nutritional Profile of Intellectually Disabled Children Attending Special School", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no.346-350, June 2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1907O42.pdf

"Nutritional Profile of Intellectually Disabled Children Attending Special School", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no. pp346-350, June 2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1907O42.pdf