Service use and access in young children with an intellectual disability or global developmental delay: Associations with challenging behaviour
Please note: this is a legacy publication from CPEC (formely PSSRU at LSE).Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability
Available online: 6 October 2016
Abstract
Challenging behaviours are frequently shown by children with an intellectual disability. This study documents service use within this population and explores its relationship with challenging behaviours and child and parent characteristics. Forty-nine mothers of young children with an intellectual disability or global developmental delay completed questionnaires focusing on child behaviour, parental mental health, and service use. Maternal mental health was not associated with services accessed. Cost of services accessed differed by topography of challenging behaviour for destruction of the environment or aggression. No differences were noted for self-injurious behaviour. In this small study, topography of challenging behaviour impacts on the frequency and/or duration (and therefore cost) of community-based healthcare accessed. Behaviours that have external impact, such as aggression and destruction of the environment are associated with a higher cost of services used, a pattern not noted for behaviours that had less external impact (e.g., self-injurious behaviour).
Challenging behaviours are frequently shown by children with an intellectual disability. This study documents service use within this population and explores its relationship with challenging behaviours and child and parent characteristics. Forty-nine mothers of young children with an intellectual disability or global developmental delay completed questionnaires focusing on child behaviour, parental mental health, and service use. Maternal mental health was not associated with services accessed. Cost of services accessed differed by topography of challenging behaviour for destruction of the environment or aggression. No differences were noted for self-injurious behaviour. In this small study, topography of challenging behaviour impacts on the frequency and/or duration (and therefore cost) of community-based healthcare accessed. Behaviours that have external impact, such as aggression and destruction of the environment are associated with a higher cost of services used, a pattern not noted for behaviours that had less external impact (e.g., self-injurious behaviour).