Mental retardation and concurrent psychiatric disorder: assessment and treatment

Purpose of review To summarize recent research on mental health and challenging behaviors in people with learning disabilities. Recent findings The assessment of dual diagnosis has expanded, has a better empirical basis, and has begun to focus on specific psychiatric disorders. A wide range of methods of prevention now exist, including better program design, teaching skills, building social support, teaching coping skills, and staff training and support. Treatment literature is more limited, with few well-designed medication trials and little attention to rehabilitation. Interventions based on applied behavior analysis have the strongest empirical basis, although there is some evidence that other therapies have promise. Summary Dual diagnosis continues to be a maturing area of research and practice. Future research should attend to developing and validating evidence-based treatments and other interventions.