Background: Given the paucity of relevant data, this study estimates the cost of intellectual disability (ID) to families and the government in Australia. Method: Family costs were collected via the Client Service Receipt Inventory, recording information relating to service use and personal expense as a consequence of ID. Government expenditure on…

Background: Mental disorder and intellectual disability each accounts for substantial burden of disease. However, the extent of this co-occurrence varies substantially between reports. We sought to determine whether studies in children and/or adolescents with acceptably rigorous methods can be distinguished from existing reports, and whether key…

Background: Few empirical studies have compared quality and outcomes for residents with intellectual disability across intentional communities such as those organised by the Camphill communities in Ireland. Method: Using a multi-element research protocol developed for an earlier large study, data were gathered about the characteristics of N = 29…

Background: Little is known about child disability and dynamic aspects of poverty. Method: Analysis of data collected over a 12-month period for families (a) supporting a child with intellectual disability (n = 370), (b) supporting a child with other disability (n = 1,418), and (c) supporting a child with no disability (n = 7,215). Results: When…

Over the last decade increased attention has been paid to identifying and responding to the mental health needs of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities. There is, however, little information available on the use of self-report scales by young people with intellectual disabilities. This study sought to determine the reliability…

The implementation of policies associated with deinstitutionalisation has dominated the development of services for people with intellectual disabilities in most, although not all, of the world's richer countries (Braddock, Emerson, Felce & Stancliffe, 2001; Hatton, Emerson & Kiernan, 1995). In England, traditional large-scale institutional care…

While there is extensive evidence on the overall benefits of deinstitutionalisation, the move from institutional care to providing accommodation and support in small to medium sized dispersed housing schemes has not gone uncontested. Recently, a number of commentators have argued for the development of cluster housing on the basis that it may…

The experience of poverty has a pervasive impact on the health (including mental health) of children and their parent(s), on family functioning and on the life course of children. The aim of this paper is to consider the relevance of poverty to our understanding of the health (and mental health) of children with intellectual disabilities in the…

This introductory article discusses major Australian deinstitutionalization initiatives and presents data on trends in institutional living in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. All three countries continue to witness a fall in the institutional population of people with intellectual disability and an increase in community…

The costs, nature, and benefits of residential supports were examined for 20 adults with severe disabilities living in newly built residential campuses and 20 adults living in small community-based dispersed housing schemes. Participants living in dispersed housing schemes enjoyed significantly greater quality of care and quality of life.…

This article uses recent developments in United Kingdom services as a case study to identify challenges facing the provision of residential supports to people with intellectual disabilities. It discusses responding to existing levels of unmet needs and increasing demand, reducing inequalities in access and service quality, and obtaining and…

The United Kingdom literature on effects of deinstitutionalization of adults with developmental disabilities from 1980 to 1994 was reviewed. Analysis generally associated smaller, community-based residential services with improvements in user engagement, adaptive behaviors and challenging behaviors, community acceptance and integration,…