Treating Mental Illness And Behavior Disorders In Children And Adults With Mental Retardation

Since the 1970s, the development of normalization philosophy and the implementation of community care policies have highlighted the nature and treatment of psychiatric and behavior disorders in people with mental retardation and rekindled the interest of scientists, psychiatric practitioners, and service providers. With these changes has grown a substantial body of new research and information on the phenomenology, epidemiology, classification, and clinical features of mental illness and behavior disorders in mentally retarded persons. In response to this growing interest and awareness, the editors, together with internationally renowned contributors from the United States and Europe, have compiled the first comprehensive handbook of the current theory and practice of mental health treatment and care in mentally retarded children and adults. Both contemporary and in-depth, this multidisciplinary, multidimensional volume covers all available therapeutic methods, including psychopharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, behavior therapies, cognitive therapy, and the systems approach for all the main diagnostic disorders in people with mental retardation. Parts I and II present an overview of epidemiology and clinical presentation, including research trends, and therapeutic methods, including psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, behavioral therapies, cognitive and social learning treatments, and working with families and caregivers. Parts III and IV focus on psychotherapeutic interventions, such as rational emotive group treatment with dually diagnosed adults, pre-therapy for persons with mental retardation who are also psychotic, and systemic therapy, and how to apply these methods to the treatment of specific mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, epilepsy, and mood and anxiety disorders. Parts V and VI discuss how to treat behavior disorders such as aggression/self-aggression (pharmacotherapy and strategic behavioral interventions) and self-injurious behaviors (multimodal contextual approach), including group therapy for sex offenders and a pedagogical approach to behavior problems, and which treatment methods, such as psychodynamically oriented psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, are most effective with children, including developmental-dynamic relationship therapy with more severely mentally retarded children. Parts VII and VIII provide guidance on mental health services and staff training, including psychiatric treatment in community care and a model for inpatient services for mentally ill persons with mental retardation, and the editors final chapter, which draws together all the various therapeutic approaches described in previous chapters to provide a practical framework for an integrative approach. Filling a major gap in the literature, this indispensable resource for psychiatrists, psychologists, and educators working with mentally retarded persons is also intended for general practitioners, doctors, social workers, and therapists working in the same or related fields.

It is well known that behavior problems are a salient characteristic of children and adults with mental retardation. That is not to say that all persons with mental retardation experience behavior disorders; how ever, most studies indicate that the incidence of emotional disturbance in this population is four to six times greater than that observed in similar intellectually nonhandicapped children and adults. It is equally well known that the principal form of treatment accorded clients with mental retardation and behavior disorders is pharmacotherapy or the prescrip tion of behavior modifying drugs. Recent studies show that 6 out of every 10 individuals with mental retardation have been prescribed drugs as treatment for disorders of emotion or behavior. Unfortunately, further studies indicate that only one or 2 out of every 10 clients receiving medication are determined to be "responders," such that some thera peutic benefit is derived from their drug treatment. As noted by the title, the single major thrust of this volume is to review approaches to the treatment of behavior disorders in persons with mental retardation from a nondrug perspective. This requires the presentation of a wide range of material on treatment: basic behavior modification programming, cognitive-behavioral strategies, habilitative approaches, counseling and psychotherapy, designing therapeutic living environments, managing medical factors bearing relevance to emotional illness, intervening with families, training special education teachers and direct care staff, and supplying information on the client's rights to obtain treatment in the least restrictive and least intrusive manner.

Mental, neurological, and substance use disorders are common, highly disabling, and associated with significant premature mortality. The impact of these disorders on the social and economic well-being of individuals, families, and societies is large, growing, and underestimated. Despite this burden, these disorders have been systematically neglected, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, with pitifully small contributions to scaling up cost-effective prevention and treatment strategies. Systematically compiling the substantial existing knowledge to address this inequity is the central goal of this volume. This evidence-base can help policy makers in resource-constrained settings as they prioritize programs and interventions to address these disorders.

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.

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.

Intellectual disabilities can be difficult to detect in children prior to their school-age years. Throughout their lives, individuals with intellectual disabilities may require specialized care and support in order to lead healthy and fulfilled lives. The Handbook of Research on Diagnosing, Treating, and Managing Intellectual Disabilities is a pivotal reference source for the latest research on the effects of disabilities in intellectual functioning, examining the causes, treatment, and rehabilitation of such limitations in adaptive behavior. Highlighting empirical findings on the management of these disabilities throughout various stages of life, this publication is ideally designed for clinicians, researchers, special educators, social workers, and students actively involved in the mental health profession.

International Review of Research in Mental Retardation is an ongoing scholarly look at research into the causes, effects, classification systems, syndromes, etc. of mental retardation. Contributors come from wide-ranging perspectives, including genetics, psychology, education, and other health and behavioral sciences. Volume 38 of the series offers chapters on autism intervention research, health, development and intellectual disabilities, perceptual-motor deficits in Down syndrome, and psychopathology in individuals with intellectual disabilities. Provides the most recent scholarly research in the study of mental retardation A vast range of perspectives is offered, and many topics are covered An excellent resource for academic researchers

Mental disorders can affect people of all ages and backgrounds. But specific mental disorders may be more likely to affect certain groups of people than other groups. For example, some mental disorders, like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, are more common in children and adolescents than in adults. Dealing with the issues that surround mental disorders can be difficult for anyone. However, young people who must balance a mental disorder with other stresses, like schoolwork, extra-curricular activities, social pressures, and physical changes, may face additional challenges coping with mental disorders. With promising discoveries and developments in psychiatric drug treatments, doctors now have more ways than ever to help patients with childhood and adolescent disorders. In this book, you will read about: •Tracy, who refused to hug or kiss her parents or even look them in the eye. •Kelly, a child with mental retardation who needed schooling but couldn't stay in her classroom because she banged her head against the walls. •Tony, whose undiagnosed and untreated ADHD led him into drug and alcohol abuse. •Carissa, who was sent home from summer camp because of her tics and echolalia. Learn how parents, doctors and psychiatrists were able to help each of these young people cope with their disorders and achieve their individual potential.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is one of the most researched and popular topics in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, and special education. In the last 30 years the amount of new information on assessment and treatment has been astounding. The field has moved from a point where many considered the condition untreatable to the current position that it may be curable in some cases and that all persons with this condition can benefit from treatment. Intervening with school age children continues to be a major focus of assessment or intervention. However, expanding the ages of those receiving more attention from younger children to older adults, is becoming more prevalent. The consensus is that intensive treatment at the earliest recognized age is critical and that many adults evince symptoms of the disorder and warrant care.The field is full of many proposed treatments many of which offer promise but no data. Thus, a book on evidence-based assessments and interventions, across the life span should be of value in helping to sort out the more credible interventions as defined by the research and what methods have the best support. Given the popularity of the topic and the vst array of potential assessments and teratments available, this volume will be aimed at delineating what the researchers have shown has the best evidence to support particular methods.International Review of Research in Mental Retardation is now available online at ScienceDirect — full-text online of volumes 23 onwards. Elsevier book series on ScienceDirect gives multiple users throughout an institution simultaneous online access to an important compliment to primary research. Digital delivery ensures users reliable, 24-hour access to the latest peer-reviewed content. The Elsevier book series are compiled and written by the most highly regarded authors in their fields and are selected from across the globe using Elsevier’s extensive researcher network. For more information about the Elsevier Book Series on ScienceDirect Program, please visit:http://www.info.sciencedirect.com/bookseries/