Introduction: While there has been impressive progress in creating and improving community healthcare delivery systems that support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), there is much more that can and should be done.Methods: This paper offers a review of healthcare delivery concepts on which new models are being developed, while also establishing an historical context. We review the need for creating fully integrated models of healthcare, and at the same time offer practical considerations that range from specific healthcare delivery system components to the need to expand our approach to training healthcare providers. The models and delivery systems, and the areas of needed focus in their development are reviewed to set a starting point for more and greater work going forward.Conclusion: Today, we celebrate longer life spans of people with IDD, increased attention to the benefits of healthcare that is responsive to their needs, and the development of important healthcare delivery systems that are customized to their needs. We also know that the growing body of research on health status offers incentive to continue developing healthcare structures for people with IDD by training healthcare providers about the needs of people with IDD, by establishing systems of care that integrate acute healthcare with long-term services and support, by developing IDD medicine as a specialty, and by building health promotion and wellness resources to provide people with IDD a set of preventative health supports.
Importance: Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are twice as likely as their peers without disabilities to have had a physical exam in the past year; however, as a result of challenging behavior during office visits, they are significantly less likely to have received recommended health screenings. Challenging behaviors in clinical settings have been identified as a barrier to providing adequate care for this population. Objective: This scoping review examined the within-session effects of multisensory environments (MSEs) on people with IDD to determine the clinical utility of MSEs for this population.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is impacting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) significantly. Early data on the impact of COVID-19 suggests that people with IDD are experiencing more severe health outcomes compared to the general population. In addition to their elevated health risks, people with IDD, like the rest of the population, are struggling with boredom, isolation, and loneliness as they shelter in place. As people with IDD seek a return to their jobs, friends and families, and the activities of their community, community-based provider organizations must strike a difficult balance between actions that are intended to protect the health and safety of people they support and actions that honor people's choices and encourage self-determination. Practical issues that community-based provider organizations must consider when striking the correct balance are discussed, and recommendations on ways to support people with IDD to make informed, self-determined choices during the pandemic are offered.
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