Featured Resource
On this page, you will find emerging and best practices for appropriate, accurate diagnosis and assessment to inform services and supports for individuals with I/DD, brain injuries, or other cognitive disabilities and a mental health condition. An accurate diagnosis is very important to receive appropriate services and treatment; however, it can be a complicated process for individuals with co-occurring conditions. For example, people can experience diagnostic overshadowing, which is the outdated idea that people with I/DD cannot also have mental health conditions.
- Mental Health & Down Syndrome— Article that describes assessing mental illness in people with Down syndrome (National Down Syndrome Society, 2024)
- Addressing Brain Health in Adults With Intellectual Disabilities and Developmental Disabilities— Companion document to the GSA KAER Toolkit for Primary Care Teams written to address the needs of adults with I/DD who develop dementia and to raise awareness of the unique needs of adults living with I/DD (Gerontology Association of America, National Task Group on ID and Dementia Practices, Ohio Association of Community Boards, and the Ohio Council for Cognitive Health, 2024)
- Persons With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in the Mental Health System: Part 1. Clinical Considerations— Article that provides a clinical overview of neurodevelopmental disabilities, mental health, and other conditions that co-occur with I/DD (Pinals, Hovermale, Mauch, and Anacker, 2022)
- The Challenge of Co-Occurring Mental Illness and Intellectual Disability in Young People (Video)— Webinar (1:01:02) to help clinical practitioners understand how to assess and adapt care for people with intellectual disabilities and mental health needs (Orygen, 2020)
- Community Living, Intellectual Disability and Extensive Support Needs: A Rights-Based Approach to Assessment and Intervention— Paper that analyzes the extent to which professional practices are aimed at promoting the right to community living for people with I/DD and extensive support needs, as well as the right to habilitation and rehabilitation and the right to privacy (Esteban, Navas, Verdugo, and Arias, 2021)
- Trauma Assessment in Youth and Adults With IDD (Video)— Webinar (1:04:15) that introduces trauma assessment tools developed, in part, by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, as well as important assessment adaptations (Brian D. Tallant, LPC, 2020)
- Bringing It in the Room: Addressing the Impact of Racism on the Therapeutic Alliance— Article that, through clinical case examples, discusses the role of racism in therapeutic practices (Maharaj, Bhatt, and Gentile, 2021)
Books & Materials Requiring Purchase
- Diagnostic Manual – Intellectual Disability: A Textbook of Diagnosis of Mental Disorders in Persons With Intellectual Disability (Fletcher et al., 2017)