The diagnosis and recognition of psychiatric disorders in old age among people with intellectual disabilities are complicated by comorbid illnesses and preexisting impairments as well as baseline cognitive and functional abilities. With the inclusion of the dementias, psychiatric disorders increase in old age. Depression and dementia have some overlapping clinical symptoms and need to be differentiated for treatment purposes. Bipolar illness is often misdiagnosed as either a behavioral problem or a schizophrenic illness. Psychotic illnesses are frequently overdiagnosed in people with intellectual disabilities. Anxiety disorders are very poorly studied in this group, although they continue to have a major impact on the quality of life of aging people with intellectual disabilities. General assessment difficulties are discussed and some suggestions made for further research in the area.
CITATION STYLE
Thorpe, L. U. (2014). Psychiatric disorders. In Dementia and Aging Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: A Handbook (pp. 217–232). Taylor and Francis Inc. https://doi.org/10.3109/9781420019926-53
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