Conceptualization of Intellectual Disability in Medieval English Law

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy J. Turner
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Intellectual Ability ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Complex Matrix ◽  
Mental Health Conditions ◽  
Difficult Time ◽  
A Site

Medieval terminology for mental health was a complex matrix of identifiers from legal, medical, and social sources and included terms for many mental, emotional, neurotic and psychotic conditions recognized today. Intellectual disability was one of those categories, especially in the legal realm, with the most-often used term being idiota. Governmental officials that became aware of properties in distress (unplanted, squatters ruining a site, etc) relieved individuals identified as idiota of their responsibilities and placed them into wardship with guardians, who not only cared for the wards but also their properties. The process of examination and civil ‘diagnosis’ of ability encompassed an individual’s intelligence, memory, cognitive ability, discretion, and, at times, appearance. The medieval terms, while not ‘intellectual disability’, certainly described differences in intellectual ability and used vocabulary appropriate for separate conditions, identifying a faulty memory, weak intelligence, difficult time managing property or goods, issue with coping day-to-day, or inability to have discretion. Medieval legal and administrative arms of the crown and local towns each used their own standards to judge competency and intelligence, yet all of them recognized the same wide variety of intellectual conditions and categories of symptoms for intellectual disabilities and other mental health conditions.

scholarly journals Prevalence of long-term health conditions in adults with autism: observational study of a whole country population

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. e023945 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewelina Rydzewska ◽  
Laura Anne Hughes-McCormack ◽  
Christopher Gillberg ◽  
Angela Henderson ◽  
Cecilia MacIntyre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Physical Disability ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Adults With Autism ◽  
Age And Gender ◽  
Mental Health Conditions ◽  
Sight Loss ◽  
And Gender

ObjectivesTo investigate the prevalence of comorbid mental health conditions and physical disabilities in a whole country population of adults aged 25+ with and without reported autism.DesignSecondary analysis of Scotland’s Census, 2011 data. Cross-sectional study.SettingGeneral population.Participants94% of Scotland’s population, including 6649/3 746 584 adults aged 25+ reported to have autism.Main outcome measuresPrevalence of six comorbidities: deafness or partial hearing loss, blindness or partial sight loss, intellectual disabilities, mental health conditions, physical disability and other condition; ORs (95% CI) of autism predicting these comorbidities, adjusted for age and gender; and OR for age and gender in predicting comorbidities within the population with reported autism.ResultsComorbidities were common: deafness/hearing loss—17.5%; blindness/sight loss—12.1%; intellectual disabilities—29.4%; mental health conditions—33.0%; physical disability—30.7%; other condition—34.1%. Autism statistically predicted all of the conditions: OR 3.3 (95% CI 3.1 to 3.6) for deafness or partial hearing loss, OR 8.5 (95% CI 7.9 to 9.2) for blindness or partial sight loss, OR 94.6 (95% CI 89.4 to 100.0) for intellectual disabilities, OR 8.6 (95% CI 8.2 to 9.0) for mental health conditions, OR 6.2 (95% CI 5.8 to 6.6) for physical disability and OR 2.6 (95% CI 2.5 to 2.8) for other condition. Contrary to findings within the general population, female gender predicted all conditions within the population with reported autism, including intellectual disabilities (OR=1.4).ConclusionsClinicians need heightened awareness of comorbidities in adults with autism to improve detection and suitable care, especially given the added complexity of assessment in this population and the fact that hearing and visual impairments may cause additional difficulties with reciprocal communication which are also a feature of autism; hence posing further challenges in assessment.

scholarly journals Relative influence of intellectual disabilities and autism on mental and general health in Scotland: a cross-sectional study of a whole country of 5.3 million children and adults

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. e029040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Kinnear ◽  
Ewelina Rydzewska ◽  
Kirsty Dunn ◽  
Laura Anne Hughes-McCormack ◽  
Craig Melville ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
General Health ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Poor General Health ◽  
Mental Health Conditions

ObjectivesTo determine the relative extent that autism and intellectual disabilities are independently associated with poor mental and general health, in children and adults.DesignCross-sectional study. For Scotland’s population, logistic regressions investigated odds of intellectual disabilities and autism predicting mental health conditions, and poor general health, adjusted for age and gender.Participants1 548 819 children/youth aged 0-24 years, and 3 746 584 adults aged more than 25 years, of whom 9396/1 548 819 children/youth had intellectual disabilities (0.6%), 25 063/1 548 819 children/youth had autism (1.6%); and 16 953/3 746 584 adults had intellectual disabilities (0.5%), 6649/3 746 584 adults had autism (0.2%). These figures are based on self-report.Main outcome measuresSelf-reported general health status and mental health.ResultsIn children/youth, intellectual disabilities (OR 7.04, 95% CI 6.30 to 7.87) and autism (OR 25.08, 95% CI 23.08 to 27.32) both independently predicted mental health conditions. In adults, intellectual disabilities (OR 3.50, 95% CI 3.20 to 3.84) and autism (OR 5.30, 95% CI 4.80 to 5.85) both independently predicted mental health conditions. In children/youth, intellectual disabilities (OR 18.34, 95% CI 17.17 to 19.58) and autism (OR 8.40, 95% CI 8.02 to 8.80) both independently predicted poor general health. In adults, intellectual disabilities (OR 7.54, 95% CI 7.02 to 8.10) and autism (OR 4.46, 95% CI 4.06 to 4.89) both independently predicted poor general health.ConclusionsBoth intellectual disabilities and autism independently predict poor health, intellectual disabilities more so for general health and autism more so for mental health. Intellectual disabilities and autism are not uncommon, and due to their associated poor health, sufficient services/supports are needed. This is not just due to coexistence of these conditions or just to having intellectual disabilities, as the population with autism is independently associated with substantial health inequalities compared with the general population, across the entire life course.

scholarly journals Prevalence of mental health conditions and relationship with general health in a whole-country population of people with intellectual disabilities compared with the general population

BJPsych Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 243-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura A. Hughes-McCormack ◽  
Ewelina Rydzewska ◽  
Angela Henderson ◽  
Cecilia MacIntyre ◽  
Julie Rintoul ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
General Population ◽  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
General Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Mental Health Conditions ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Country Study ◽  
People With Intellectual Disabilities

BackgroundThere are no previous whole-country studies on mental health and relationships with general health in intellectual disability populations; study results vary.AimsTo determine the prevalence of mental health conditions and relationships with general health in a total population with and without intellectual disabilities.MethodNinety-four per cent completed Scotland's Census 2011. Data on intellectual disabilities, mental health and general health were extracted, and the association between them was investigated.ResultsA total of 26 349/5 295 403 (0.5%) had intellectual disabilities. In total, 12.8% children, 23.4% adults and 27.2% older adults had mental health conditions compared with 0.3, 5.3 and 4.5% of the general population. Intellectual disabilities predicted mental health conditions; odds ratio (OR)=7.1 (95% CI 6.8–7.3). General health was substantially poorer and associated with mental health conditions; fair health OR=1.8 (95% CI 1.7–1.9), bad/very bad health OR=4.2 (95% CI 3.9–4.6).ConclusionsThese large-scale, whole-country study findings are important, given the previously stated lack of confidence in comparative prevalence results, and the need to plan services accordingly.

COVID-19 risk: Adult Medicaid beneficiaries with autism, intellectual disability, and mental health conditions

Autism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 136236132110396
Author(s):  
Whitney Schott ◽  
Sha Tao ◽  
Lindsay Shea
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Residential Facility ◽  
Severe Illness ◽  
Mental Health Conditions ◽  
Autistic Adults

Adults on the autism spectrum and those with intellectual disability or mental health conditions may be at increased risk of contracting COVID-19 or experiencing more severe illness if infected. We identified risk factors for COVID-19 among adults enrolled in Medicaid with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, intellectual disability, or mental health conditions. We examined adults ages 20–64 years with 9-month continuous enrollment over 2008–2012 using Medicaid Analytic eXtract data. There were 83,150 autistic adults and 615,607 adults with intellectual disability meeting inclusion criteria; of a random sample of 1 million beneficiaries without autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disability, 35.3% had any mental health condition. Beneficiaries on the spectrum, those with intellectual disability, and those with mental health conditions all had higher odds of risk factors for becoming infected with COVID-19 (living in a residential facility, receiving services in the home from outside caregivers, having had a long hospitalization, and having had avoidable hospitalizations) and higher odds of comorbidities associated with severe illness from COVID-19. Clinicians should anticipate high prevalence of comorbidities and risk factors for severe illness from COVID-19 among these populations. Health officials and non-governmental organizations should target these groups with outreach for the COVID-19 vaccine and support continued efforts for appropriate mitigation measures. Lay abstract Autistic adults, adults with intellectual disability, and adults with other mental health conditions may have higher risk of contracting COVID-19 or experiencing more severe illness from COVID-19 if infected. We used data from Medicaid to look at whether autistic adults and other adults with intellectual disability and other mental health conditions were more likely to have risk factors for COVID-19, such as living in a residential facility, receiving services regularly in the home from outside caregivers, having had a long hospitalization, having had avoidable hospitalizations, and having high-risk health conditions. We found that autistic adults had higher odds of living in a residential facility, receiving in-home services from outside caregivers, having had an avoidable hospitalization, and having a high-risk health condition, compared to neurotypical adults without mental health conditions. Adults with intellectual disability had similar odds of having these conditions. Adults with other mental health conditions were also more likely to live in a residential facility, receive services from outside caregivers, and have had avoidable hospitalizations compared to the neurotypical population without mental health conditions. They had three times higher odds of having a high-risk health condition. High risk of COVID-19 among autistic adults and adults with intellectual disability and mental health conditions should be recognized by clinicians, and these groups should be prioritized for vaccine outreach.

scholarly journals Prevalence of mental health conditions, sensory impairments and physical disability in people with co-occurring intellectual disabilities and autism compared with other people: a cross-sectional total population study in Scotland

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. e035280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsty Dunn ◽  
Ewelina Rydzewska ◽  
Michael Fleming ◽  
Sally-Ann Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Physical Disability ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Mental Health Conditions ◽  
Sensory Impairments

ObjectivesTo investigate prevalence of mental health conditions, sensory impairments and physical disability in children, adults and older adults with co-occurring intellectual disabilities and autism, given its frequent co-occurrence, compared with the general population.DesignWhole country cohort study.SettingGeneral community.Participants5709 people with co-occurring intellectual disabilities and autism, compared with 5 289 694 other people.Outcome measuresRates and ORs with 95% CIs for mental health conditions, visual impairment, hearing impairment and physical disability in people with co-occurring intellectual disabilities and autism compared with other people, adjusted for age, sex and interaction between age and co-occurring intellectual disabilities and autism.ResultsAll four long-term conditions were markedly more common in children, adults and older adults with co-occurring intellectual disabilities and autism compared with other people. For mental health, OR=130.8 (95% CI 117.1 to 146.1); visual impairment OR=65.9 (95% CI 58.7 to 73.9); hearing impairment OR=22.0 (95% CI 19.2 to 25.2); and physical disability OR=157.5 (95% CI 144.6 to 171.7). These ratios are also greater than previously reported for people witheitherintellectual disabilitiesorautism rather than co-occurring intellectual disabilities and autism.ConclusionsWe have quantified the more than double disadvantage for people with co-occurring intellectual disabilities and autism, in terms of additional long-term health conditions. This may well impact on quality of life. It raises challenges for staff working with these people in view of additional complexity in assessments, diagnoses and interventions of additional health conditions, as sensory impairments and mental health conditions in particular, compound with the persons pre-existing communication and cognitive problems in this context. Planning is important, with staff being trained, equipped, resourced and prepared to address the challenge of working for people with these conditions.

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