The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) and their families in the emergency department (ED). Hospital chart audits were conducted on a sample of 20 individuals with ID living with family who had visited the ED for a psychiatric crisis. Individuals had a combined total of 44 ED…

Objective: Epidemiological studies in the United States consistently find autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to be overrepresented in high socioeconomic status (SES) families. These findings starkly contrast with SES gradients of many health conditions, and may result from SES inequalities in access to services. We hypothesized that prenatal measures…

Carers of individuals with an intellectual disability are often responsible for managing their children's psychiatric crises when they arise. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of families using crisis and short-term transitional supports from the perspectives of families and of crisis and transitional support staff. Three…

Many individuals with intellectual disabilities who live with their families experience mental health problems and ensuing psychiatric emergencies. During periods of crisis, families may require additional services, including going to the emergency department (ED). The goal of this study was to elucidate demographic, clinical, and crisis features…

The purpose of this study was to describe the medication management and treatment provided in a specialty outpatient psychiatry clinic for 198 community-residing children and adults with intellectual disability and other developmental disabilities (IDD) referred to the clinic and discharged between 1999 and 2008. Using a descriptive design, data…

Background: Physical distress resulting from medical problems has been found to cause increased behaviour problems in patients with intellectual disabilities (ID). Despite this fact, little has been documented on the medical problems of individuals with ID admitted for inpatient psychiatric care. We conducted an exploratory investigation based on…

Background: Limitations of general psychiatric services have led to the development of specialised psychiatric programmes for patients with intellectual disability (ID) and mental health needs. Few studies have examined treatment outcomes of specialised inpatient units, and no studies have explored how the effects of intervention may differ for…

Background: There are a variety of models for the mental health care of adults with comorbid intellectual disability (ID) and mental illness. There has been a long-running debate as to whether this should be provided by general psychiatric or specialised ID services. A previous review concluded that there was no clear evidence to support either…

Adults with autism and intellectual disability (ID) are assumed to have high vulnerability for developing psychiatric disorders, but instruments or criteria for identifying those who may be in need of psychiatric services have been lacking. This study presents a new carer-completed screening checklist designed for this purpose. Differentiation…

Strains on the mainstream mental health system can result in inaccessible services that force individuals with intellectual disabilities into the emergency room (ER) when in psychiatric crisis. The purpose of this study was to identify clinical and systemic issues surrounding emergency psychiatry services for people with intellectual disabilities,…

Background: Strains on the mental health system and inaccessible services for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) often force caregivers to bring individuals with ID to the emergency department (ED) when in psychiatric crisis. The purpose of this study was to understand the experience of caregivers and adults with ID and mental health…

During the 1990s, a decision was made within the Learning Disabilities services of Camden & Islington to develop a local integrated service for people requiring an acute psychiatric admission. There had been little research at the time on the experiences of people with learning disabilities within the type of inner London acute mental health…

Background: Mental Health Services for adults with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) in Asia is less described than those in the western world. With the improvements in the economy and medical care in Asia, there is an increase in awareness of mental health services for people with ID in this part of the world. A study was carried out to look into…

We examined behaviour management problems as predictors of psychotropic medication, use of psychiatric consultation and in-patient admission in a group of 66 adults with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) and intellectual disability (ID) and 99 controls matched in age, gender and level of ID. Overall, people with PDD had higher rates of most…

Background: UK policies aim to facilitate access to general psychiatric services for adults with intellectual disability (ID). If this is to be achieved, it is important to have a clear idea of the characteristics and proportion of people with ID who currently access specialist psychiatric services and the nature and extent of psychiatric…