What different causes are there for cognitive disabilities?

And which specialists should be contacted in order to test the severity?

The first poster gave a good response. Other causes and conditions for cognitive disabilities include traumatic brain injury; severe forms of autism; heredity and unknown causes.

A psychologist (clinical, educational or neuropsychologist) can do certain kinds of testing to assess levels of cognitive functioning. Other kinds of medical doctors such as developmental pediatricians or neurologists may be able to give diagnoses, but might not do psychological testing to specifically assess cognitive levels).

Chromosomal anomalies like Down's Syndrome, structural anomalies like microcephaly (brain fails to develop), lack of oxygen to the brain during birth, mother drinks alcohol or takes drugs during pregnancy, lead poisoning, or a disease that affects the nervous system such as meningitis.

That's some of the most common causes.

IQ (intelligence quotient) can be tested by a psychologist and this is commonly done by schools or by private practice psychologists.

The medical disability (such as brain damage or chromosome anomaly) needs to be diagnosed by a medical doctor.

Cognitive therapy - talk therapy - more so than touch therapy -is the best form 4 a disability thats cognitive =)
Contact a physiologist 4 cognitive therapy.
Good Luck ! =)

cognitive action is a branch of psychology, that which deals with thoughts feelings and behaviour. It is the science of why we do things we do. Life events can shape our cognitive responses, if you grew up in unhappy home, not that its always as heavy as that, it may be you came from a rich background and through your (not you in particular) upbringing, may find it acceptable and with out question that woman should always be in the kitchen for example, not a good one of course. It may be you have lost your wallet and can`t find it any were. you are starting to panic, your heart rate rises, for a moment you thought you dropped it. Then you have a thought you left it at your friends house. you phone and no its not there. By this time you are pacing the floor and have a good mind to round to your friends because you now `know` that's were it was. He`s trying to rip you off, now you are very angry and you will just round but you`ll have a coffee first. You open the fridge and there on the top shelf is your wallet!! Now cognitively, you may have marched round to your friends and it would all have ended in tears. basically this situation arose from suposition and half baked beliefs. There was never any evidence the friend had the wallet. The only true basis is the wallet is lost anything else is irrelevent because it may or may not be true, cognitive therapy looks at how to avoid unhelpful thinking and base things on what you know to be true. The thought of the freind `stealing the wallet could`ve been avoided but the thought had an influence on the feelings and they had an effect on the behaviour. This is the basis of cognitive therapy. You may see a psychologist for treatment or perhaps a councilor, your doc will point you in the right direction