Intellectual Disabilities and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Research documents the increasing prevalence of neurodevelopmental disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder. Individuals diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disabilities have a higher likelihood of engaging in problem behaviors, like aggression or self-injury, requiring professional support. In extreme cases, these problem behaviors require psychiatric hospitalization for acute treatment. Unfortunately, there are few inpatient psychiatric units specifically equipped to work with individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities in the United States. As such, these individuals experience longer admissions and are often less satisfied with the services received. This chapter will present the care model adopted by the Neuropsychiatric Special Care Unit (NSCU) at Children’s Hospital Colorado. We will discuss the NSCU operations and outcomes with a goal of describing a model for delivering effective psychiatric inpatient care to youth diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders.