About 30% of individuals with Autism will have a co-occurring intellectual disability. Individuals with Autism and intellectual disability may experience particular challenges in accessing treatment for their mental health conditions.
Those who are minimally verbal are likely to face even more significant barriers to mental health care. This group is particularly vulnerable to issues of diagnostic overshadowing; whereby changes in presentation may be viewed as exclusively ‘behavioural’ rather than as potential manifestations of comorbid psychiatric conditions and distress (e.g. significant depression or anxiety).
Expert guidance for supporting people with Autism, intellectual disability, and mental health issues can be found here:
Accessible Mental Health Services for People with an Intellectual Disability
Making Mental Health Services Accessible to People with an Intellectual Disability
Mental Health of Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Intellectual Disability
Professor Julian Troller discusses the relationship between intellectual disability and co-occurring mental health conditions in this webinar, and approaches to assessment and management.
For Easy Read booklets, please see the Supporting Patients with Autism in Mental Health Settings webpage.
The Black Dog institute has developed an online ‘Healthy Mind’ tool for individuals with intellectual disability.
This resource, produced by Mencap (a leading UK charity for people with learning disabilities), provides a brief introduction to communication, and the problems faced by someone with a learning disability (with recommendations also frequently applicable to Autism Spectrum Conditions).