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Community-Based Psychiatric Care for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

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Abstract

It is estimated that between 25% and 40% of all individuals with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) have a co-occurring psychiatric and/or behavioral disorder. It is also well-recognized that arriving at an accurate psychiatric diagnosis in these persons is challenging, in spite of the availability of extrapolated or modified diagnostic systems adapted to persons with IDD. Most individuals with IDD and co-occurring psychiatric illness are cared for by general psychiatrists and in community settings; even though this clinical area receives little attention in either medical school or psychiatric residency education. Persons with IDD and psychiatric illness are more likely to seek care in emergency and inpatient settings when in crisis, compared to peers without IDD, which may reflect the inadequacy of current outpatient care in the community. Successful community-based outpatient care requires multi-system coordination, especially for those persons with IDD and substance use disorders, autism spectrum disorder, or forensic involvement. Future dedicated learning and exposure to this vulnerable patient population during training are essential to improving the quality of care for these persons.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, University Hospitals – Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Jennifer D. Bellegarde, Thomas Scheidemantel & Stephen L. Ruedrich

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University Hospitals – Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Amelia Polzella

Authors
  1. Jennifer D. Bellegarde
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  2. Amelia Polzella
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  3. Thomas Scheidemantel
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  4. Stephen L. Ruedrich
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer D. Bellegarde .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Wesley E. Sowers

  2. Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, New York University Grossman School of Medicine | NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA

    Hunter L. McQuistion

  3. Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Columbia University, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA

    Jules M. Ranz

  4. Professor Emerita of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Jacqueline Maus Feldman

  5. Vice Chair/Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, Ohio, OH, USA

    Patrick S. Runnels

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Bellegarde, J.D., Polzella, A., Scheidemantel, T., Ruedrich, S.L. (2022). Community-Based Psychiatric Care for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. In: Sowers, W.E., McQuistion, H.L., Ranz, J.M., Feldman, J.M., Runnels, P.S. (eds) Textbook of Community Psychiatry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10239-4_41

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