Developmental stages and estimated prevalence of coexisting mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions and service use in youth with intellectual disabilities, 2011-2012.
Kids with ID bring more mental-health needs and fuller appointment books, so plan sessions and IEPs with that reality in mind.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lotfizadeh et al. (2020) looked at a big national survey of kids ages 3-17. They asked how many youth with intellectual disability also have mental health or other brain-based conditions.
The team then checked how often these kids use mental health services or take medicine.
What they found
Youth with ID had more extra diagnoses and used more services than peers without ID. The gap was biggest during the school-age years.
In plain words, if you work with a child with ID, plan on seeing other needs as well.
How this fits with other research
Takahashi et al. (2023) meta-analysis shows kids with ID also lag far behind in motor skills. Together the papers paint a full picture: more meds, more therapy visits, and weaker bodies.
Liang et al. (2026) add that these same kids move 13 minutes less each day. The three studies line up—higher service use goes hand in hand with lower activity.
Waldron et al. (2023) find students with ID miss nearly 8% of school, often for illness or appointments. D et al. help explain why: more mental-health needs mean more days in clinics.
Why it matters
Expect comorbidity as the norm, not the exception. Build extra time into schedules for medical and therapy appointments. Pair academic goals with motor and physical activity targets. Share the big picture with teachers and parents so no one is surprised by the busy calendar.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Few studies exist on mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions and service use among youth with intellectual disabilities (IDs), which makes it difficult to develop interventions for this population. The objective of the study is to (1) estimate and compare the prevalence of mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions in youth with and without ID across three developmental stages and (2) estimate and compare mental health service use in youth with and without ID across three developmental stages. METHODS: We conducted secondary data analysis using cross-sectional data collected from caregivers completing the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health. The data set represents a nationally representative sample of youth (0-17 years) in the USA with one child from each household being randomly selected. Data were collected from caregivers in 50 states, Washington D.C. and the US Virgin Islands. We restricted the sample to parents of youth between 3-17 years (N = 81 510). RESULTS: Compared with youth without ID, youth ages 3-17 with ID had a statistically significantly higher prevalence of (1) mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions and (2) mental health care use and medication use for mental health and neurodevelopmental issues (other than attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Clinically significant differences in coexisting conditions and service use were also found across developmental stages. CONCLUSIONS: Youth with ID are at greater risk of having coexisting mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions than youth without ID and are more likely to receive treatment. Therefore, clinicians should consider mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions and the unique needs of youth by developmental stage when tailoring interventions for youth with ID.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2020 · doi:10.1111/jir.12708