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The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss mental health services for people with intellectual disability (ID) in Norway.

A literature review and a survey were conducted to map services for people with ID and mental health problems in Norway.

The results were sparse and confirmed what is already known among clinicians working with these patients. The Norwegian services are fragmented and there are geographical differences.

There are no special services for children with ID developing mental illness. For offenders with ID, a national unit assesses and follows up, also when the person is sentenced to compulsory care and services are provided in their home municipality.

More data about both the patients and the services are needed in order to improve mental health services for people with ID in Norway.

This paper describes mental health services for people with ID in Norway.

Assessment of psychiatric disorders in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disabilities (ID) is challenging. The purpose of this paper is to explore the diagnostic decision making and strategies employed in the assessment of a young man with ASD and ID who eventually got the additional diagnosis of schizophrenia.

To describe and explore a process not easily converted into quantitative measures, it was chosen to perform a case study of a single case.

The combined knowledge of ASD, ID and psychiatric disorder was important in the current assessment. General assessment tools were of some value, but their results had to be interpreted with care. The same was true of a more ASD/ID-specific tool. Using multiple informers may strengthen data from such tools in this population, but does not make it interchangeable with self-report. The case presented demonstrates the possibility of negative symptoms and functional decline overshadowing positive psychotic symptoms in people with ASD/ID, as well as the expression of ASD changing with a functional decline.

The present study adds to the few previous reports on identification of psychosis in this population, and in addition, may assist clinicians in making more accurate psychiatric assessments of people with ASD/ID.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an exclusion criterion for one of the two attachment disorders in the DSM 5. However, previous findings indicate that ASD and attachment disorder are unrelated conditions and may co-occur. The purpose of this paper is to explore the diagnostic assessment of an adolescent male with ASD, intellectual disability (ID), severe challenging behaviour and a suspected attachment disorder.

Case study methodology was chosen because of its suitability in the exploration of complex clinical phenomena where prior knowledge is sparse.

It was possible to identify symptoms of attachment disorder in a case involving ASD, ID, anxiety and severe challenging behaviour. The Disturbances of Attachment Interview was particularly useful in this assessment, as was assessment of ASD symptoms and developmental history. Differentiating the two attachment disorders proved challenging.

There is a need for further research in ASD and attachment disorders not limited by current diagnostic categories.

Co-occurring symptoms of attachment disorder may be identified in individuals with ASD and ID, and exploration of these symptoms in assessments of children and adolescents with ASD/ID and challenging behaviour may be beneficial.

The study adds to previous findings on attachment disorder in ASD, demonstrating that identification of attachment disorder is possible even in the presence of a highly complex clinical picture involving severe challenging behaviour. It may also assist other clinicians in identifying and making more accurate assessment of attachment disorder in ASD and ID.

Psychiatric assessment in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) is complex and challenging. With co-occurring congenital blindness, this complexity is increased. Systematic knowledge about psychiatric assessment in this combination of challenges is virtually non-existing, and there is little guidance available for clinicians faced with this task. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Experiences from comprehensive psychiatric assessments in two adults with congenital blindness, ASD, and ID are explored and discussed.

Adaptation of assessment procedures usually employed for individuals with ASD and ID involved no major alteration, but co-operation between mental health and visual impairment professionals was important, as was the involvement of the families of the individuals in question. In both cases, the patient met criteria for an anxiety disorder, underlining the vulnerability and the challenges involved in living with this combination of challenges.

There is an urgent need for research into mental health issues for this group, including case studies describing successful treatment or intervention for these issues.

Psychiatric assessment in individuals with this combination of challenges may be feasible, but requires involvement of professionals specializing in mental health in developmental disabilities, and professionals in visual impairment. Assessments need to be individually adapted.

This is the first study systematically describing psychiatric assessment in this group involving the use of checklists and assessment tools. Strategies and tools that were useful are described and discussed to aid other clinicians faced with similar challenges.