This article summarizes Canadian research in "dual diagnosis" spanning the past 20 years and places this research within a historical and policy context. Canadian researchers have made important contributions with regard to understanding inpatient and outpatient mental health services, families, autism, specific disorders and behaviors, aboriginal…

This review of research into mental disorders in people with intellectual disabilities (ID) focuses on research in this field that has originated from the United Kingdom in the last 2 decades. It considers research developments into the epidemiology of mental disorders and problem behaviors, psychopharmacology, psychosocial interventions, and…

In this article we review the empirical evidence for the presumptions that children with disabilities are at increased risk for child maltreatment, and parents with disabilities are more likely to perpetrate child abuse and neglect. Challenges to the epidemiological examination of the prevalence of child maltreatment and disabilities are…

This review focuses on the families of individuals dually diagnosed with intellectual disability (ID) and comorbid mental health problems. The review examines the impact of caring for individuals with ID and comorbid mental health problems on family well-being, the impact of the family on these individuals, and intervention and support needs of…

This article systematically reviews the literature on the effects of adverse life events or trauma on people with intellectual disabilities. It is important to systematically examine empirical evidence of the effects of trauma in people with intellectual disabilities as to date the number of studies in this area is not substantial, and the effects…

Caretakers of adolescents and young adults with Down syndrome (DS) may report the onset of a depressive illness in previously mentally well individuals. However, the behavioral phenomenology of these conditions has not been well characterized. We ascertained a cohort of DS patient-subjects presenting to a specialty clinic with medical and/or…

Behavioral pain assessment is possible for children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). However, pain behavior is often misinterpreted as reflecting psychopathology. We examined whether psychopathology alters pain behavior. Caregivers of 123 children (56 girls ages 40 to 258 months) completed the Non-Communicating…

Weight gain is an often-observed side effect of atypical antipsychotics (AAPs) and is particularly significant in individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). The majority of individuals treated with AAPs will gain at least 10% of their initial body weight over the course of therapy (Umbricht & Kane, 1996). One's genetic constitution is an…

Individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) are often overweight or obese because of their delayed satiety response. Three individuals with PWS participated in a long-term, multicomponent mindfulness-based health wellness program to reduce their obesity by changing their lifestyles. The components included (a) physical exercise, (b) food…

Psychometric properties of Romanian translations of the "Behavior Problems Inventory-01" ("BPI-01"; Rojahn, Matson, Lott, Esbensen, & Smalls, 2001) and the "Nisonger Child Behavior Rating Form" ("NCBRF"; Aman, Tasse, Rojahn, & Hammer, 1996) were explored. Respondents completed the instruments for 115 children and adolescents with intellectual…

This study was conducted to assess the psychometric properties of 2 assessment instruments, the "Behavior Problems Inventory-01" ("BPI-01"; Rojahn, Matson, Lott, Esbensen, & Smalls, 2001) and the "Nisonger Child Behavior Rating Form" ("NCBRF"; Aman, Tass, Rojahn, & Hammer, 1996). The sample consisted of 237 ethnically diverse children and…

Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in adults with intellectual disability (ID), yet little is known about depressive behaviors in an ID population. This study examined the nonverbal social skills of 18 adults with mild ID diagnosed with depression and a matched sample of adults with mild ID without depression. Nonverbal…

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects 9-12% of individuals with intellectual disability (ID). Although psychostimulant medication is often the primary treatment modality, little is known regarding the effects of such agents on social interactions and play in this population. Additionally, the role of ADHD symptoms in social and…

This study describes the validity and the sensitivity and specificity of depression screening tools among adults with intellectual and disabilities (ID). Subjects (N = 75) were interviewed with the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) and the Glasgow Depression Scale for People with a Learning Disability (GDS-LD) and also completed a clinical…

Challenging behaviors were assessed in 313 children, and it was demonstrated that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) exhibited greater levels of challenging behavior than both normally developing controls and children with psychopathology or atypical development. Next, we examined the relation between challenging behaviors and symptoms…