When the System Fails: The Consequences of Ignoring Behavioral Health in IDD
As healthcare leaders, we strive to deliver comprehensive, patient-centered care. Yet for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), our systems often fall short, especially when it comes to behavioral health. While we readily address physical needs, behavioral health conditions such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder frequently go unrecognized and untreated. This oversight has profound consequences, not only for individuals and families but for the sustainability and effectiveness of our healthcare systems.
The numbers tell a sobering story. Adults with IDD are almost four times as likely to be admitted to the hospital from the emergency department as patients who were not identified as having an IDD. According to a study published in 2022 by Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities shows that between 30%–40% of people with IDD suffer from psychiatric disorders that co-occur with their disability. Additionally the publication reported that, these individuals require specialized, integrated support – yet stigma, inadequate training and a fragmented care system continue to create barriers to access.
The other unfortunate reality is that treating this population only when they are in crisis means they will often get that care in the emergency department of a hospital. This care setting is always expensive and frequently not the best therapeutic setting for individuals to get help.
This is a call to action. As healthcare system leaders, we must ask: How can we disrupt this pattern? How can we train our providers, connect our services and ensure that people with IDD receive the behavioral health care they need and deserve?
Laura Baker Services Association’s (LBSA) new behavioral health service is designed to fill these critical gaps, offering a model that integrates behavioral health with IDD care. I encourage you to explore this approach, start conversations within your system and take meaningful steps to close this gap. The cost of inaction is too great – not just for the individuals we serve, but for the integrity of our healthcare systems as a whole.
Let’s move beyond recognizing the problem. Let’s support the leadership of LBSA in leading this effort.
About the Author
Steve Underdahl serves as a board member for Laura Baker Services Association. Prior to his retirement he was the CEO of Northfield Hospital & Clinics.