Assessment of Mental Health Problems in People with Intellectual Disabilities

There is an increased vulnerability for people with intellectual disabilities to develop mental health problems. However, there is a lack of knowledge among healthcare professionals regarding how to carry out an assessment that can guide treatment planning. Assessment of mental health is often challenging and complex as people with intellectual disabilities face different needs and require healthcare professionals to make necessary adaptations during the assessment process. However, often healthcare professionals assume that people with intellectual disabilities present mental health symptoms in a similar way as the neurotypical population, missing out on certain behavioural signs or attributing the challenging behaviours to their neurodevelopmental disorder or physical conditions. People with intellectual disabilities are less likely to verbalise their symptoms, hence the current classification system may not be compatible for healthcare professionals to adopt as certain problem behaviours may not be listed in the diagnostic criteria. Many healthcare professionals do not know the appropriate assessment tools or checklists to identify and track the severity of mental health problems. This chapter describes using the biopsychosocial approach to assessment and identifies various factors that influence the mental health of people with intellectual disabilities. A multidisciplinary approach is recommended and various assessment tools or checklists that healthcare professionals can use with various stakeholders (e.g. carers and support workers) are identified which can be integrated with the biopsychosocial model. Challenges and considerations during the assessment process are explored.