Mental Health Aspects Of Mental Retardation

Current estimates suggest that between one and three percent of people living in the United States will receive a diagnosis of mental retardation. Mental retardation, a condition characterized by deficits in intellectual capabilities and adaptive behavior, can be particularly hard to diagnose in the mild range of the disability. The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) provides income support and medical benefits to individuals with cognitive limitations who experience significant problems in their ability to perform work and may therefore be in need of governmental support. Addressing the concern that SSA's current procedures are consistent with current scientific and professional practices, this book evaluates the process used by SSA to determine eligibility for these benefits. It examines the adequacy of the SSA definition of mental retardation and its current procedures for assessing intellectual capabilities, discusses adaptive behavior and its assessment, advises on ways to combine intellectual and adaptive assessment to provide a complete profile of an individual's capabilities, and clarifies ways to differentiate mental retardation from other conditions.

Children living in poverty are more likely to have mental health problems, and their conditions are more likely to be severe. Of the approximately 1.3 million children who were recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits in 2013, about 50% were disabled primarily due to a mental disorder. An increase in the number of children who are recipients of SSI benefits due to mental disorders has been observed through several decades of the program beginning in 1985 and continuing through 2010. Nevertheless, less than 1% of children in the United States are recipients of SSI disability benefits for a mental disorder. At the request of the Social Security Administration, Mental Disorders and Disability Among Low-Income Children compares national trends in the number of children with mental disorders with the trends in the number of children receiving benefits from the SSI program, and describes the possible factors that may contribute to any differences between the two groups. This report provides an overview of the current status of the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, and the levels of impairment in the U.S. population under age 18. The report focuses on 6 mental disorders, chosen due to their prevalence and the severity of disability attributed to those disorders within the SSI disability program: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, learning disabilities, and mood disorders. While this report is not a comprehensive discussion of these disorders, Mental Disorders and Disability Among Low-Income Children provides the best currently available information regarding demographics, diagnosis, treatment, and expectations for the disorder time course - both the natural course and under treatment.

To assist professionals with assessment and treatment, Drs. Fletcher and Dosen have gathered leaders in the field and key researchers from the U.S. and Europe to address current approaches to mental illness and behavioral disorders in persons with mental retardation. Examines diagnosis, treatment, effective models of services, dementia, and special issues for clints who exhibit self-injurious behavior.

In late 1985, The President's Committee on Mental Retardation (PCMR) spon sored a National Strategy Conference on Mental Retardation and Mental Health in Washington, D.C. The purpose of this conference was to bring together our nation's leadership in the fields of mental retardation and mental health in order to delineate the state of the art relative to the diagnosis, care, and treatment of citizens with mental retardation/mental illness, as well as to chart a national course for the support and integration of citizens with these challenging needs into the confluence of family and community life. The President's Committee on Mental Retardation recognized that citizens with these needs constitute one of the most underserved and, at times, forgotten segments of the population. With this in mind, the PCMR called together govern mental, professional, and parental representatives from across the nation to define the nature and extent of the problem, programs, and services that promise hope for substantive improvement in the quality of life of citizens with mental retardation/mental illness.

Ce document se veut une synthèse des diverses connaissances sur la liaison entre la déficience intellectuelle et les troubles de santé mentale. Conçu à partir d'une revue de la documentation sur le diagnostic double, le document permet de faire une évaluation critique des recherches ainsi que des théories concernant les comportements excessifs. Il suggère des idées ou des hypothèses de travail pour de nouveaux axes de recherche. Il est alors question de la terminologie utilisée et de la description des différents comportements problématiques, de la psychopathologie et de l'anxiété, de la dépression, du suicide, de la schizophrénie, des troubles de la personnalité, du diagnostic et de l'évaluation. Il propose aussi diverses approches pour le traitement et porte un certain éclairage sur l'intégration dans la collectivité des personnes qui rencontrent des difficultés comme un diagnostic double de déficience intellectuelle et de déficience du psychisme.

This book brings together findings from research and clinical practice, with comprehensive coverage of the important aspects of mental health in ageing persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It is crucial for professionals involved in the care of persons with all intellectual and developmental disabilities to have a broad understanding of the essential range of issues, and therefore this book provides a truly multi-disciplinary perspective, complete with many figures and illustrations to underline the key points. Undoubtedly, research and clinical practice are much more advanced in the general ageing population than in persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and so professionals and academics must be made fully aware of commonalities and idiosyncrasies of older people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This book presents the ongoing developments concerning mental health and aging, which will become relevant to the intellectually disabled population. Through experience, this book also acknowledges that the impact on the persons themselves and on their carers always needs to be taken into account, with treatment programs established with a multi-faceted team approach in mind. Avoiding the jargon of many titles in this area while maintaining the hands-on approach of clinical practice, this book meshes the practical and scientific worlds, with all chapters written by leading experts in the field. Beyond the US, the IASSIDD support expands the book message worldwide.