People experiencing social isolation, discrimination or a lack of resources are more at risk for developing a mental health disorder like depression or anxiety. People who have intellectual and developmental disabilities have these same challenges and more.
Intellectual and developmental conditions vary widely, including diagnoses like Down syndrome or autism spectrum disorders.
According to Healthy Minds Policy Director Brittany Hayes, mental health symptoms that show up for people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities are more likely to be missed or discounted.
“Often the professionals that they're seeking treatment from aren't able to distinguish ‘is this a symptom that they're experiencing because of [intellectual and developmental disabilities], or is this a separate mental or behavioral health diagnosis?’” Hayes said.
Healthy Minds is a nonprofit focused on increasing access to health care across Oklahoma. Their latest research found between 39 and 52% of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have a co-occurring mental health condition.
Along with misdiagnosis, misconceptions and discriminatory requirements continue the pattern of inequity in care.
“A lot of the treatment that's provided, unfortunately, is based on an IQ score,” Hayes said. “So you have professionals who really want to help but don't really know how to approach someone with a lower IQ or somebody who's nonverbal.”
This week, Healthy Minds released a list of policy suggestions for Oklahoma.
Policy suggestions include early and continued care for health care providers and better coordination and collaboration between services.
“Until we really increase the training that providers get [and] increase the number of providers that there are, we have a gap to overcome to make sure that Oklahomans who experience both behavioral health conditions and [intellectual and developmental disabilities] get taken care of as well,” Hayes said.
Healthy Minds recommends increasing collaboration by employing the “START” model. START stands for “Systemic, Therapeutic, Assessment, Resources, and Treatment” and is a collaborative preventive and intervention network that connects existing programs providing care to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
