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This article describes the use of the National Health Interview Survey-Disability Supplement (NHIS-D) to estimate the prevalence and general characteristics of persons with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities in the non-institutionalized U.S. population. It provides estimates of the populations of non-institutionalized persons with intellectual disability (defined categorically), with developmental disabilities (defined functionally) and with both. It describes how the prevalence of intellectual and/or developmental disabilities varies by age, poverty status and other demographic variables. It describes how intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities are operationally different, and how the people identified in those groups differ substantially both in number and in demographic characteristics. An analysis of poverty status among adults reveals that poverty is significantly more common for women, people who were not white, people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, adults with less than 12 years of education, and people living with a spouse or alone (as compared to people living with relatives such as parents or siblings).

While individuals with an intellectual disability form a significant minority in the worldwide prison population, their healthcare needs require specialist attention. In Ireland, services for prisoners with intellectual disabilities need development. However, there is little substantive data estimating the prevalence of intellectual disabilities within the Irish prison system. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The authors systematically review published data relating to the prevalence of intellectual disabilities in prisons in the Republic of Ireland. The authors searched four databases, governmental websites and corresponded with experts.

Little published data were elicited from searches except for one nationwide cross-sectional survey which reflected a higher prevalence than reported in international studies. Studies from forensic mental health populations are narrated to contextualise findings.

This study found that there is little data to accurately estimate the prevalence of intellectual disabilities in the Irish prison system and the limited data available suggests that this is likely to be higher than international estimates. The authors highlight the need for further research to accurately estimate prevalence in this jurisdiction, alongside the need to develop screening and care pathways for prisoners with an intellectual disability.

In the field of autism spectrum research, there has been a tendency to examine autistics without intellectual disabilities. This focus has come at the expense of examining their peers with intellectual disabilities, who are generally regarded as needing more assistance due to more complex support needs. This chapter begins by defining intellectual disability, followed by an examination of the literature about the prevalence of intellectual disability in the autistic population. The results from the American Government's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Autism and Developmental Monitoring (ADDM) Network about the proportion of autistics with intellectual disabilities are then outlined. Following this, the results from studies about the proportion of autistics with intellectual disabilities are presented. The goal of this section is to show that despite there being evidence that about a quarter of the autistic population have an intellectual disability, this cohort is underrepresented within research about the autism spectrum. Two reasons for this discrepancy are then outlined. This chapter concludes with three suggestions for where more research can be conducted into autistics who have an intellectual disability.

The original contribution that this chapter makes to the field of autism research is to highlight the lack of literature about members of the autistic community who have an intellectual disability as well as presenting several reasons for this lack of research and directions for research in the future.

Expert consensus is that people with an intellectual disability are over represented across the criminal justice setting (CJS). Primary research studies have been conducted in police stations and prisons, but little is known about the prevalence of this population in the court setting. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a literature review to find out more about the prevalence of defendants with an intellectual disability in court.

A literature review was conducted using standard systematic review methodology (Julian et al., 2011) and the PRISMA reporting guidelines (Moher et al., 2009).

Two papers met the inclusion criteria and were critically appraised. The papers reported prevalence findings ranging from 10%–20%.

Differences in study design, sampling, recruitment and diagnostic criteria affect the ability to make comparisons or synthesise findings.

It is important that future primary and secondary research studies standardise operational terms to enable true comparison between studies, systematic reviews and evidence syntheses.

Defendants with an intellectual disability need to be identified to enable criminal justice professionals to make reasonable adjustments to proceedings and consider diversion and alternative disposal options. This will likely improve outcomes for this population and reduce recidivism.

This literature review contributes to the growing evidence base about meeting the criminal justice needs of people with a learning disability and recognition of the increased prevalence across the CJS and specifically within the court setting.

There have been few studies about the prevalence of substance abuse and links to offending behaviour among those with intellectual disabilities. This paper aims to address this issue.

This baseline audit describes: the prevalence of alcohol and substance misuse in patients within a forensic intellectual disability service; and the introduction of a Drug and Alcohol Awareness Course. In total, 74 patients were included in the audit.

Roughly half of the patients audited had co‐morbid harmful use or dependence with the problem being equally prevalent in men and women. Whilst alcohol and cannabis were the commonest drugs of abuse, cocaine, stimulants and opiates were abused by a small but significant number. Of those with harmful use or dependence, 35 per cent had used the drug in the immediate lead up to their index offence. A diagnosis of personality disorder and past history of convictions for violent offences was significantly more likely to be present in the group with harmful use or dependence. There were no differences on major mental illnesses or pervasive developmental disorders.

The high prevalence of substance abuse makes it an important risk factor that could determine treatment outcomes. Forensic intellectual disability units need replicable substance abuse targeted treatment programmes that can be formally audited and evaluated.

Findings are discussed in relation to service planning and treatment outcomes from forensic intellectual disability services.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence with which individuals with intellectual disability are housed in jails and prisons.

This was a literature review of individuals with intellectual disability who are in prison.

Persons with intellectual disability are imprisoned approximately seven times more frequently than would be expected by their prevalence in the general population.

Factors likely to contribute to this overrepresentation are reviewed, including need for supports and acquiescence of people with intellectual disability.

People who have intellectual disability do not receive needed supports and services in prison.

Supports are needed to end this overreliance on prisons to support people who have intellectual disability.

The paper highlights the magnitude by which imprisonment exceeds the level that would be expected from population prevalence alone. It highlights the problems associated with insufficient funding and supports.

Given the increased prevalence of mental health problems amongst people with intellectual disabilities, it seems pertinent to consider how the recovery approach could potentially benefit practice within mental health services for people with intellectual disabilities. This paper seeks to explore the similarities between recovery principles and existing approaches in services for people with intellectual disabilities; it also aims to reflect on the potential barriers to the explicit uptake of the “recovery” approach in this context.

The presence and implementation of “recovery” approaches within mental health services for people with intellectual disabilities are reviewed. This is achieved through an examination of existing practices that could be described as recovery oriented, along with reflections on how these relate to the recovery approach. Questions are raised regarding whether practices can be regarded as “recovery oriented”, without first consulting service users.

Further consideration is needed about the extent to which mental health services for people with intellectual disabilities are recovery oriented and how recovery would be defined amongst people with intellectual disabilities.

It is suggested that further research using qualitative methodology is conducted, to enable the voice of service users to be heard.

The paper is one of the first to explore the relevance of the recovery approach to people with intellectual disabilities. Given the increasing emphasis on recovery approaches within mainstream services, it seems vital to give consideration to the potential for its meaningful application to people with intellectual disabilities and mental health problems.

Between July and November 2001, a health survey of New South Wales (NSW) inmates was conducted by NSW Justice Health. A cross‐sectional random sample of inmates stratified by age, gender and Aboriginality (Aboriginal people are over‐represented in the NSW inmate population) that included approximately 10% of the male and 34% of the female inmate population participated in the study (n = 914). Of those invited to participate, 83% of males and 84% of females consented. One element of the study was the use of the Hayes Ability Screening Index. Inmates identified to be at risk for intellectual disability on the screening tool were referred to a psychologist who administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Revised (n = 167). This paper discusses the implications of the results in terms of full scale IQ, in which 3% of men and 12.5% of women of those identified as being at risk on the screening index were identified as having an intellectual disability, and the overall cognitive profile of those tested. The implications for health education and therapy in prisons are considered.

The range of prevalence of personality disorder (PD) found in people with intellectual disability (ID) has been reported as vast, and has included data from dissimilar settings. The purpose of this paper is to review the reported prevalence of PD in the general population of people with ID, and to consider how different and changing ideas about PD have affected these rates.

Cross-sectional studies of the prevalence of PD in people with ID were identified. The quality of the studies was considered, along with how cases of PD were identified.

Six studies were included. The reported prevalence of PD in people known to have ID ranged from 0.7 to 35 per cent. Possible reasons for this wide range included different views of PD and methods of assessment.

The wide range of findings suggests that methodological differences are significant. Consideration to how clinicians should respond to the overlap of impairment between ID and PD may improve the conceptual clarity of PD, informing future epidemiological research.

This review was limited to studies of samples likely to be representative of the general ID population. The range of prevalence estimates was narrower than previously reported, and more likely to reflect the true prevalence rate of PD amongst people who have ID. Consideration was also given to how different ideas of PD led to different methods and may have contributed to variance in the results.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the first 15 months of operation of an innovative specialist national public health observatory for intellectual disability.

The paper provides a narrative account of aims and achievements of the service.

In the first 15 months of operation the observatory has: made available to those involved in commissioning health and social care services, a wealth of information on the health needs of people with intellectual disabilities; identified specific improvements that could viably be made to increase the quality of future information; and begun working with local agencies to support them in making the best use of the available information.

People with intellectual disabilities experience significant health inequalities. This paper describes an innovative approach to helping local agencies make the best use of available information in order to commission services that may reduce these inequalities.