An Introduction to the DM-ID-2

The Problem Although psychiatric disorders in persons with intellectual/developmental disability (IDD) are common, they are often not appropriately identified (Reiss, 1994). The provision of adequate mental health treatment for people with ID continues to be lacking, in part, because reliable psychiatric diagnosis remains a clinical challenge. Determining an accurate psychiatric diagnosis becomes especially difficult at lower levels of intellectual functioning (Rush & Frances, 2000). DM-ID-2 has been produced to help address this problem. in addition to adapting the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria where appropriate, the DM-ID-2 provides a wealth of information about and considerations for assessing and diagnosing individuals with ID and coexisting mental health needs. In some cases, it is not so much that the criteria need to be adapted as that a different method of eliciting the necessary information must be used. Information is provided in recognizing common behaviors of individuals with intellectual disabilities and in how to differentiate these behaviors from psychiatric disorders.