Presented by Susan Scharoun, PhD, Professor, Psychology Department, Le Moyne College

Mental health problems appear to be more common among individuals with a developmental disability, however, the interaction of two or more diagnoses must be considered when providing appropriate services. People with both an intellectual disability and a mental illness are often challenging for service providers to successfully work with due to the complexity of the interaction. How a mental illness interacts with a person’s intellectual disabilities and vice versa is important for caregivers to understand. Getting an accurate diagnosis is challenging, and many traditional approaches to providing services are not effective. Supporting individuals with two or more diagnoses requires an understanding of these complex interactions.  

This presentation will assist participants in understanding symptom patterns of the most common mental illnesses and how they may interact with a person’s intellectual challenges. Concrete recommendations using evidenced based treatment will be discussed.

After completing this session, participants will:

• be able to understand the specific criteria to diagnose mental illness in a person with an intellectual disability. The criteria as identified in the DM-ID 2 and the interaction of two or more diagnoses will be discussed.
• be able to understand the concept of diagnostic overshadowing, a term used to describe the over attribution of the developmental disability instead or recognizing that it is a mental health issue.
• be able to understand the causes and risk factors of mental illness in the population of people diagnosed as intellectually disabled from a biopsychosocial perspective. Genetics, brain abnormalities, and environmental influences will be discussed. 
• understand the limitations of the DM-ID 2 and the challenges presented by the intellectual disabilities in making an accurate and formal diagnosis.
• be able to identify treatment techniques informed by evidence-based research that have shown efficacy with this dually diagnosed population. They include Good Psychiatric Management, Positive Behavior Support, and Trauma Informed Therapy.

This webinar is approved to provide 2.0 SW CE hours.

About Susan Scharoun:

Dr. Susan Scharoun has a Ph.D. in Psychology from Syracuse University. After graduating from S.U., she received a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) post-doctoral fellowship to do brain research in the Department of Anatomy and Center for Brain Research at the University of Rochester Medical School.

Dr. Scharoun was employed by NYS Office of People with a Developmental Disability as an Associate Psychologist and Treatment Team Leader for seventeen years before becoming a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Le Moyne College, where she was the chair of the department for over a decade.

Her research interests include autism and addressing challenging behaviors with positive behavioral support. Dr. Scharoun has taught courses such as Brain and Behavior, Childhood Disorders, Human Lifespan Development, Motivation and Emotion, Personality Theory, Human Lifespan Development, The Psychology of Disabilities and Health Psychology. She is a consultant psychologist for several not-for-profit agencies that serve children and adults with developmental disabilities.

Dr. Scharoun is on the Board of Directors of ARC of Onondaga and is the co-author of the e-publication of Dual Diagnosis, A Caregiver’s Guide. Dr. Scharoun is a sibling of a person with a developmental disability and a strong advocate for families.

Important Note: All event registrations must be paid in full by credit card at the time of registration.

The New York Alliance for Inclusion & Innovation is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers (#SW-0105).