Psychotropic and Anticonvulsant Medication: Individuals With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Who Transitioned to the Community From an Institution.

Faja et al. (2015) tracked psychotropic and seizure medicines in adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

They compared two groups: adults who had just left large institutions and adults already living in group homes.

The team watched prescription counts for both groups to see if moving changed drug use.

Medicine use went up in both groups, but the jump was steeper for the newly moved group.

The rise happened soon after the move and kept climbing during the study window.

Nøttestad et al. (2003) saw almost no change in neuroleptic doses after moves. The key gap is time: Aa looked only six months out, while Susan watched longer and caught the later surge.

Agiovlasitis et al. (2025) later showed that brief staff training can cut antipsychotic doses in community homes. Their result points to a fix: give staff behavior tools so doctors feel safe tapering.

Klein et al. (2024) found youth with IDD are five times more likely to be on two or more psychotropics at once. Susan’s adult trend and the youth data together paint a picture of rising polypharmacy across the lifespan after leaving institutional care.

Community placement is meant to improve life, yet pill counts can quietly climb. You can stem the rise by scheduling medication reviews at 30, 90, and 180 days post-move. Pair each review with a functional behavior assessment so team members have data to justify gradual dose cuts.