This textbook provides a state of the art of the knowledge on the prevalence risk and
etiological factors clinical features assessment procedures and tools diagnostic criteria
treatment and prognosis of the psychiatric disorders encountered in people with intellectual
disability (ID) and low-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ID and ASD represent two
meta-syndromic groups of several different conditions each with particular cognitive and
communication features. People with ID ASD display an increased prevalence of a variety of
psychiatric disorders including psychotic disorders mood disorders anxiety and
stress-related disorders somatoform disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder as well
behavioral syndromes personality disorders and disorders due to psychoactive substance use.
This book will enable readers to understand the specificities of psychiatric disorders in the
context of ID ASD. It explains clearly how diagnostic criteria and assessment procedures for
psychiatric disorders that were created for the general population have to be modified for use
with ID ASD. Above all it will enable clinicians to overcome difficulties in diagnosis and to
deliver more effective care that meets the particular needs of patients with ID ASD.
