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Meeting the support needs of persons with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning: still a long way to go
Author(s) -
Nouwens P. J. G.,
Smulders N. B. M.,
Embregts P. J. C. M.,
Nieuwenhuizen C.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of intellectual disability research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.941
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1365-2788
pISSN - 0964-2633
DOI - 10.1111/jir.12427
Subject(s) - intellectual disability , borderline intellectual functioning , psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , population , medical model of disability , medicine , cognition , environmental health
Background Among persons with a mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning, differences in their characteristics imply that a differentiated approach is required to meet their needs. This retrospective study examined whether the history of support/treatment programs and the type of healthcare providers involved matched the specific support needs of persons with a mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning. Method Five (previously identified) profiles of persons with a mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning were used to investigate to what extent the support needs of this group had been met. For the 250 persons with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning who matched these five profiles, data were collected retrospectively from their case files. Results Persons with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning received a very similar amount and type of support/treatment programs. Differences between the profiles were found for non‐verbal therapy, residential treatment and contacts with social work. Regarding the type of healthcare providers involved, differences between the profiles emerged for specialised intellectual disability services, youth services and specialised addiction services. Conclusions The support programs for a heterogeneous population of persons with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning seem to be suboptimal, indicating that more differentiation is required in the services offered to these individuals.