This session provides participants insight into the complex relationship of people with a mental health disorder and intellectual and other developmental disabilities. Tom Pomeranz explains how the assessment results of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (Aman, M. and Singh, N. ABC-2, Second Edition, 2019) can provide clinical insight into potential psychiatric issues.
Tom reveals why diagnosing mental health disorders in individuals with I/DD can be very difficult. Participants gain an understanding why many mental health disorders are missed due to “diagnostic overshadowing”. Emphasis is placed on the fact that the right drug doesn’t fix the wrong environment and that drugs treat disorders not behaviors. Participants will also gain an appreciation that historically, individuals with I/DD were thought immune to psychiatric disorders. Further, the concept of “therapeutic disdain” is discussed as a bias in the psychiatric clinical community against those with I/DD.
The training gives the importance of understanding the causes of various forms of self-harm. Extensive information is detailed regarding “situational awareness” and its effective application in keeping individuals safe from harm who are at great risk.
Finally, Tom details those factors and influences that place individuals with I/DD at greater risk than the general population of being diagnosed with a mental health disorder and its negative impact on providing appropriate services and supports.
