Trauma experiences of people with an intellectual disability and their implications: A scoping review

Abstract

It is increasingly being reported that people with an intellectual disability are significantly more likely to experience adverse life events, abuse and trauma in childhood compared with others in the general population (Dion

Predictors of secondary traumatic stress among intellectual and developmental disabilities workforce: An examination of risk and protective factors.

“…There is a need to continue to explore the understanding of how individuals diagnosed with IDD process trauma and react to reexperiencing of traumatic events. However, a scoping review conducted by McNally et al (2021) included 41 international articles of a 20-year period (2000–2020) on the traumatic experiences of IDD persons living in community settings. The findings indicated that aggressive behaviors of people with IDD can be symptoms of trauma.…”

“…Individuals with IDD are known to have higher rates of challenging behaviors than the general population (Ageranioti-Bélanger et al, 2012; Bowring et al, 2019; Oubrahim & Combalbert, 2019). Although not all challenging behaviors of IDD persons can be attributed to traumatic experiences, some of these challenging behaviors potentially are the expression of emotional reactions connected to past trauma exposure (McNally et al, 2021). A Rittmannsberger et al (2020) study suggested that challenging behavior in IDD persons may be a manifestation of posttraumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) symptoms.…”

Guest editorial

“…Yet, while NICE guidance outlines that, “Recommendations…relate to everyone, [including] people with neurodevelopmental disorders” (p. 50, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2018b), it does not articulate the differential trauma needs of people with an intellectual disability with comparable consideration afforded to other high trauma exposure group such as military and refugee populations. Given the elevated risk of exposure across the life span and the differential presentations of trauma symptoms in people with intellectual disabilities (McNally et al , 2021), including this key information in future, NICE guidance would greatly help increase the visibility and understanding of the differential trauma needs of this population.…”

Exploring the knowledge base of trauma and trauma informed care of staff working in community residential accommodation for adults with an intellectual disability

“…In their systematic review of abuse for adults with an intellectual disability in care settings Colins and Murphy (2021) describe individual, perpetrator and organisational risk factors for abuse of adults with an intellectual disability, noting risks due to severity of intellectual disability, being known to services over time, challenging behaviours and involvement with behaviour management services. A recent scoping review by McNally et al (2021) highlighted growing evidence for the NICE (2018) recommended interventions but challenges remain for the formal recognition and assessment of trauma for adults with an intellectual disability. Also reported in the review was the need to move towards trauma informed care for people with an intellectual disability who are likely to have been impacted by a trauma history.…”