Exploring mental health issues in people with an intellectual disability

Abstract

Mental health concerns are prevalent in regard to those with intellectual disability. There are many reasons for this, some of which may relate to the causation of the person’s intellectual impairment. Other extraneous factors, such as the number of significant life events, may also result in compromised mental health. For many people, however, mental health problems may go untreated, which may relate to difficulties in diagnosis or in ascribing the signs and symptoms to other causes. With increasing numbers of people with an intellectual disability making use of regular community health services, and the reported unfavourable nature of such services, mental health problems may not be addressed. Registered intellectual disability nurses have a crucial role to play in ensuring that the mental health concerns of people with an intellectual disability are identified and addressed in an expeditious manner to achieve maximum well-being.This article explores such mental health concerns and, drawing on a brief case study, describes the role of nurses.