 |
||||||
|
||||||
|
 |
 |
|
Psychiatric Supports for People with Mental Retardation
 From the November 2002 Disabilities newsletter.When diagnosing psychiatric problems in people with mental retardation and determining if treatments are working, Lori Noto, an assistant professor at the University of Bridgeport's School of Education and Human Resources, emphasizes that "we need to be good observers. Our data collection needs to effective." She underscores the importance of including family members and any relevant disability services staff in the evaluation process, since they are good sources of information about a person's mood and behavior. From Diagnosis to Determining Supports Diagnosing psychiatric problems can be more difficult in people with developmental disabilities. People with developmental disabilities may not express themselves verbally, or may simply say they are "fine," but may exhibit physical symptoms during an evaluation, such as sweating or a red face that indicate anxiety. On the flip side, they may exaggerate events or feelings to make things sound more serious than they are. The solution, says Dr. Noto, is to not evaluate a person with mental retardation without a family member or service provider's input and presence at the appointment, if appropriate. Since they know the person well, they can ensure that behaviors and feelings are interpreted accurately by offering their observations. Service providers should remember that family members need time to adjust to a diagnosis of a psychiatric problem. "There is the potential for stigma," Dr. Noto advises. "The general population is not always accepting of psychiatric problems." Service providers should also be aware that family members may not recognize a particular behavior as a problem and that they may need to help families understand that a problem needs to be addressed. Dr. Noto recommends that they be included in conversations with the psychiatrist and should also be given the opportunity to talk to other families experiencing the same situation. Service providers should use a positive behavioral support (PBS) model and perform a functional assessment to distinguish actions that are the result of a behavior problem from those that result from a psychiatric problem. "If you do a good functional assessment," says Dr. Noto, "it gives you the best chance of an accurate diagnosis and a good treatment approach." Support staff should be trained in managing psychiatric problems so that a person's behaviors are not misinterpreted, and at least one person on a support team should be knowledgeable enough to communicate regularly with a psychiatrist and share information effectively. Ongoing Evaluation The frequency of an individual's problem behaviors should be tracked to determine the effectiveness of the supports they are receiving. If medication is used, service providers and family members need to make sure that the person is taking the medication and should monitor him or her for possible side effects or drug interactions. Staying in touch with the pharmacist is a must.
|
|
