What about the mental health of kids with intellectual disability?

Dr Glenn Melvin

High-quality epidemiological research shows children and adolescents with intellectual disability are four times more likely to have diagnosable mental health problems compared to others their age. This mental health inequality clearly needs attention.

Part of the problem is a process called diagnostic overshadowing: symptoms are incorrectly assumed to be related to the child’s disability rather than an underlying mental health issue. This often makes it difficult to identify mental health problems in children with intellectual disability.

After we account for the impact of diagnostic overshadowing through the use of specialised assessment tools, Australian research shows over 40% of children with intellectual disability have mental health problems that may be serious enough to lead to a psychiatric diagnosis.

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