Q: My 28 years old brother is suffering from mild mental retardation. His intelligence quotient (IQ) is 65. He is able to fulfil his needs and is independent. He is on some medications prescribed by the doctor but I am not satisfied with his handling in the last few years. Hence I would like to take the second opinion. Please suggest.

A:Mental Retardation is a phenomenon in which special care/ education is the best treatment to enhance the skills and the capabilities of the patient. And since the attendants come to know about retardation by the age of 3-5 years, the intervention of therapy should be commenced then only or at the earliest possible. At the age of 28, the best you can do is to engage him with a special educator, psychologist and a vocational trainer. The team would assess the capabilities, isolate the problem areas and prepare him with some skill that will keep him occupied in a therapeutic manner. For the problems you are facing for past few months, the patient might need behaviour therapy, which can be taken care of by the psychologist. Since above-mentioned treatment plan is time consuming, it should be planned in the same city where the patient is staying.