PREVALENCE AND CAUSATION OF MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS IN PEOPLE WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

The mental health needs of people with learning disabilities have only been on the learning disability healthcare agenda for the past 15–20 years. Reid (1994) suggests that historically it was thought that people with learning disabilities did not have the intellectual or cognitive ability to suffer from a mental health disorder. Any noticeable changes in their behavior were interpreted as part of their learning disability and, on the unusual occasion that signs of mental illness were noted, they were passed on to the local general psychiatric services, as learning disability services were not able to treat them. Reiss (1992) identifies that the issue was in the assessment process, distinguishing whether a ‘dual-diagnosed’ person’s primary need was the learning disability or the mental health problem, i.e. which was more significant to their lives or those around them. Concern was centered on the provision of care, such as whether the patient was to be cared for by those in the mental health or the learning disabilities service. Alongside the responsibility afforded to the appropriate service, funding implications were also an issue. A consequence of labelling psychiatric disorders as secondary often meant funding was also secondary and too often inadequate.

It is now generally agreed that people with learning disabilities can and do experience mental health problems and, indeed, prevalence rates are generally regarded as higher than in the general population. Priest and Gibbs (2004) suggest that their intellectual disability and the cause of this disability, such as prenatal brain damage, make people with learning disabilities susceptible to developing mental health problems. There have been findings of higher prevalence of mental health problems throughout learning disabled populations, i.e. within all levels of cognitive ability and age. Birch et al. (1970) found that 40 per cent of people with learning disabilities suffered from mental illness, compared with 10 per cent of the general population. Stromme and Diseth (2000) found that 33 per cent of people with mild learning disabilities and 42 per cent of those with severe learning disabilities suffered from mental illness. Table 1 outlines the reported rates of mental illness in learning disabilities.

اخر الاخبار

اخبار العتبة العباسية المقدسة

مؤتمر السيد المجاهد يشهد عرض فيلم وثائقي عن سيرته العلمية ومشروع إحياء تراثه

بحث حوزوي يتناول التمييز بين المعجزة والسحر عند السيد المجاهد

بحث يناقش أثر القواعد العقلية في استنباط الأحكام الشرعية عند السيد محمد المجاهد

بحث علمي يناقش ردود السيد المجاهد على اللغويين والنحويين في كتابه (مفاتيح الأصول)

المزيد

الآخبار الصحية

هل توقيت نشاطك اليومي يؤثر على صحة دماغك؟.. العلماء يجيبون

"مشروب محبوب" يخفي فوائد لا يعرفها كثيرون

طبيب يكشف 5 أنواع للسعال.. بعضها خطير

نقص فيتامينات "خفي".. قد يفسّر التعب والتنميل وقلة التركيز

المزيد

الآخبار التكنلوجية

دراسة: تغيّرات في أسلوب القيادة قد تكشف مبكرا عن الخرف !

عمرها 773 ألف سنة.. اكتشاف أقدم أحافير بشرية في المغرب

"اختراق علمي".. اختبار دم في منزلك قد يكشف ألزهايمر

ماذا يحدث للجسم عند قطع الكافيين فجأة؟

المزيد

مواضيع ذات صلة

Parents with Learning Disabilities CONCLUSION

PROVISION OF SUPPORT

CARING FOR CHILDREN

EUGENICS AND ETHICAL ISSUES

PARENTING

DISCRIMINATION AND DIVERSITY

THE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Parents with Learning Disabilities

Legislation and Learning Disabilities CONCLUSION

LEGAL SAFEGUARDS

MENTAL CAPACITY ACT 2005

THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT 1998