Editorial
| Date | 12 December 2016 |
| Pages | 173-175 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JIDOB-09-2016-0017 |
| Published date | 12 December 2016 |
| Author | Colin Dale |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Learning & intellectual disabilities,Offending behaviour,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Deviant behaviour,Education,Special education/gifted education,Emotional/behavioural disorders |
Colin Dale
The guidelineon mental health problems in people with learning disabilityhas now been published
on the UK’s National Institute for Health and Social care Excellence (NICE) (2016) website.
This guideline covers preventing, assessing and managing mental health problems in people with
learning disabilities in all settings (including health, social care, education, and forensic and
criminal justice).
It aims to improve assessment and support for mental health conditions and help people with
learning disabilities and their families and carers to be involved in their care.
People of all ages with alllevels of learning disabilities can be affectedby mental health problems.
When a person is not able to describe or express their distress, and when they have coexisting
physical health problems, their mental health problems can be difficult to identify. This leads to
mental health problems remaining unrecognised, which prolongs unnecessary distress.
Psychosis, bipolar disorder, dementia, behaviour that challenges and neurodevelopmental
conditions suchas autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are allmore common than in
people withoutlearning disabilities and emotional disordersare at least as common. Some causes
of learningdisabilities are associatedwith particularly highlevels of specific mental healthproblems.
When people with learning disabilities experience mental health problems, the symptoms are
sometimes wrongly attributed to the learning disabilities or a physical health problem rather than
a change in the person’s mental health. Indeed, their physical health state can contribute to
mental ill health, as can the degree and cause of their learning disabilities, psychological factors
and social factors.
Population-based estimates suggest in the UK that 40 per cent (28 per cent if problem
behaviours are excluded) of adults with learning disabilities experience mental health problems at
any point in time. An estimated 36 per cent (24 per cent if problem behaviours are excluded) of
children and young people with learning disabilities experience mental health problems at any
point in time. These rates are much higher than for people who do not have learning disabilities
(NICE, 2016).
This guideline includes recommendations on:
■organising and delivering care;
■involving people in their care;
■prevention, including social, physical environment and occupational interventions;
■annual GP health checks;
■assessment;
■psychological interventions, and how to adapt these for people with learning disabilities; and
■prescribing, monitoring and reviewing pharmacological interventions.
Who is it for?
■Healthcare professionals;
■social care practitioners;
■care workers;
■education staff;
■commissioners and service providers; and
■people with learning disabilities and their families and carers.
DOI 10.1108/JIDOB-09-2016-0017 VOL. 7 NO. 4 2016, pp. 173-175, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2050-8824
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JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AND OFFENDING BEHAVIOUR
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Editorial
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