Addressing the mental health needs of children with an intellectual disability
(L-R): Dr Glenn Melvin, Dr Vaso Totsika, Professor Richard Hastings and Associate Professor Kylie Gray
MIND-IT, a research team supported by the Monash Warwick Alliance, is working to improve the wellbeing of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities or autism, and their families.
The team, which includes Associate Professor Kylie Gray and Dr Glenn Melvin of Monash University, and Professor Richard Hastings and Dr Vaso Totsika of the University of Warwick, is aiming to identify both the challenges and the positive experiences that families encounter while raising a child with a disability, and to successfully translate research findings into on-the-ground treatment, support and services.
Their research findings, which were presented at the MIND-IT Research Group conference in Melbourne late last year, highlighted a clear need for better identification of mental health problems and access to improved treatments and services.
“Many families are coping well, but some are not. Research findings show that when families struggle to cope this is mainly due to issues associated with a child’s disability rather than the nature or severity of the disability itself. Such associated difficulties include access to diagnosis and treatment if the child has additional behavioural and emotional issues, and a lack of support for parents. So the good news is many of the issues causing high levels of stress in families can be addressed by better support,” Professor Hastings said.
Despite the high prevalence of mental health issues, there are few assessment tools to help clinicians identify young disabled people who may be suffering from a mental illness, and a general lack of specialist services available – issues Associate Professor Gray says the MIND-IT Research Group aims to address.
“One of the primary aims of the MIND-IT Research Group is to start developing treatments, evaluate them and get them out into the community,” said Associate Professor Gray.
The next MIND-IT conference will be held in the summer of 2015 in the UK.
The MIND-IT Research Group is an international collaboration between the Centre for Developmental Psychiatry and Psychology (Monash University) and the Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal and Research (University of Warwick).
Formed in early 2012, the Monash Warwick Alliance represents an innovation in higher education and research and aims to accelerate the exchange of people, ideas and information between Monash and Warwick Universities.