Neuropsychological and behavioural profiles of students with intellectual development disorder on parents and teachers' perceptions.
Collect both parent and teacher forms; either one flagging high internalising points to a student with ID who needs extra emotional support.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team gave two paper checklists to the students with intellectual disability and 112 same-age peers. One checklist went home to parents (CBCL). The other went to teachers (TRF).
They compared the scores to see which items best spotted the kids with ID.
What they found
Kids with ID scored higher on almost every problem area. The biggest gap was in internalising problems: withdrawn, sad, anxious items.
A simple rule caught the groups: high internalising score on either form = likely ID. Parent and teacher forms agreed only modestly, so one alone missed cases.
How this fits with other research
Dworschak et al. (2016) counted that half of students with ID show challenging behaviour. V et al. now show the same group also shows quieter internalising signs, not just loud topographies.
Balboni et al. (2020) found that, in severe-profound ID, better adaptive skills can sit beside more problem behaviour. V et al. focused on school-age mild-moderate ID and still saw the classic picture: lower adaptive, more behaviour problems. The two studies look opposite until you see they sampled different severity bands and settings.
Libero et al. (2016) taught us to watch RRBI and overactivity as red flags for later self-injury. V et al. add that internalising scores on everyday checklists can serve as an early, low-effort screen before those heavy behaviours ever start.
Why it matters
You already use the CBCL or TRF for referrals. Keep using both. Low agreement is not error; it tells you the child behaves differently at home and at school. When either form shows high internalising, dig deeper even if the other form looks fine. Early identification gives you time to teach coping, request breaks, or involve counselling before internalising turns into escape or aggression.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Children with intellectual development disorder (IDD) have high rates of comorbid neuropsychological and behavioural problems. However, there are not many studies on this population in middle-income and low-income countries. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of neuropsychological and behavioural problems in students with and without IDD and to assess the correlation between the responses from informants (parents and teachers) and the clinical diagnoses in Brazil. METHODS: After clinical diagnosis, 78 male and female students (7-15 years old) were divided into two groups: children with IDD (n = 39) and children without IDD (n = 39). The Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and Teacher's Report Form (TRF) scales were used to track neuropsychological and behavioural problems. Calculations of prevalence ratios were performed using Poisson regression with Wald tests. The CBCL and TRF results were compared between groups with Mann-Whitney U-tests and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. The agreement between scales was assessed using the Spearman correlation test. RESULTS: Neuropsychological and behavioural problems were significantly more prevalent in students with IDD. The average amount of CBCL problems was significantly higher than that of TRF in the dimensions of thought, attention, somatic, attention deficit/hyperactivity, opposition defiant and total problems. Low-to-moderate correlations between CBCL and TRF dimensions in the IDD group were observed. ROC analyses revealed that the dimensions of internalising problems and total scores reflecting CBCL and TRF problems were the most important factors for identifying neuropsychological and behavioural problems in the IDD group. CONCLUSIONS: Students with IDD require early identification of behavioural and emotional symptoms to avoid the underdiagnoses of various mental health problems, especially those with internalising characteristics. The CBCL and TRF may assist in the early screening of these comorbidities.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2021 · doi:10.1111/jir.12837