Family burden related to clinical and functional variables of people with intellectual disability with and without a mental disorder

Few studies have been found that to assess the factors that explain higher levels of familyburden in adults with intellectualdisability (ID) and intellectualdisability and mental disorders (ID-MD). The aims of this study were to assess familyburden in people with ID and ID-MD and to determine which sociodemographic, clinical and functionaldisabilityvariables account for familyburden. The sample is composed of pairs of 203 participants with disability and their caregivers, of which 33.5% are caregivers of people with ID and 66.5% of ID-MD. Assessments were performed using scales of clinical and functionaldisability as the following instruments: Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-III), Inventory for Client and Agency Planning (ICAP), Psychiatric Assessment Schedule for Adults with Development Disability (PAS-ADD checklist), Disability Assessment Schedule of the World Health Organization (WHO-DAS-II) and familyburden (Subjective and Objective FamilyBurden Inventory - SOFBI/ECFOS-II). People with ID-MD presented higher levels of functionaldisability than those with ID only. Higher levels of familyburden were related to higher functionaldisability in all the areas (p < 0.006-0.001), lower intelligence quotient (p < 0.001), diagnosis of ID-MD (p < 0.001) and presence of organic, affective, psychotic and behavioral disorders (p < 0.001). Stepwise multiple regression showed that behavioral problems, affective and psychotic disorder, disability in participation in society, disability in personal care and presence of ID-MD explained more than 61% of the variance in familyburden. An integrated approach using effective multidimensional interventions is essential for both people with ID and ID-MD and their caregivers in order to reduce familyburden.

Family impact in intellectual disability, severe mental health disorders and mental health disorders in ID. A comparison

Family impact (or family burden) is a concept born in the field of mental health that has successfully been exported to the ambit of intellectual disability (ID). However, differences in family impact associated with severe mental health disorders (schizophrenia), to ID or to mental health problems in ID should be expected. Seventy-two adults with intellectual disability clients of the Carmen Pardo-Valcarce Foundation's sheltered workshops and vocational employment programmes in Madrid (Spain), 203 adults diagnosed with schizophrenia from four Spanish Community Mental Health Services (Barcelona, Madrid, Granada and Navarra) and 90 adults with mental health problems in ID (MH-ID) from the Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu Health Care Site in Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona (Spain) were asked to participate in the present study along with their main caregivers. Family impact experienced by caregivers was assessed with the ECFOS-II/SOFBI-II scale (Entrevista de Carga Familiar Objetiva y Subjetiva/Objective and Subjective Family Burden Interview). In global terms, results showed that the higher family impact was found between caregivers to people with MH-ID. The interaction of both conditions (ID and mental health problems) results in a higher degree of burden on families than when both conditions are presented separately. There was also an impact in caregivers to people with schizophrenia, this impact being higher than the one detected in caregivers to people with intellectual disability. Needs of caregivers to people with disability should be addressed specifically in order to effectively support families.

Audit report on the Peace Officers' Retirement, Accident and Disability System for the year ended June 30, 2014

Audit report on the Peace Officers' Retirement, Accident and Disability System for the year ended June 30, 2014

New reference tables and user-friendly Internet application for predicted heart weights.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of normal heart weight ranges is important information for pathologists. Comparing the measured heart weight to reference values is one of the key elements used to determine if the heart is pathological, as heart weight increases in many cardiac pathologies. The current reference tables are old and in need of an update. AIMS: The purposes of this study are to establish new reference tables for normal heart weights in the local population and to determine the best predictive factor for normal heart weight. We also aim to provide technical support to calculate the predictive normal heart weight. METHODS: The reference values are based on retrospective analysis of adult Caucasian autopsy cases without any obvious pathology that were collected at the University Centre of Legal Medicine in Lausanne from 2007 to 2011. We selected 288 cases. The mean age was 39.2 years. There were 118 men and 170 women. Regression analyses were performed to assess the relationship of heart weight to body weight, body height, body mass index (BMI) and body surface area (BSA). RESULTS: The heart weight increased along with an increase in all the parameters studied. The mean heart weight was greater in men than in women at a similar body weight. BSA was determined to be the best predictor for normal heart weight. New reference tables for predicted heart weights are presented as a web application that enable the comparison of heart weights observed at autopsy with the reference values. CONCLUSIONS: The reference tables for heart weight and other organs should be systematically updated and adapted for the local population. Web access and smartphone applications for the predicted heart weight represent important investigational tools.

Correlations between negative-induced cerebral dynamics and idiopathic intellectual disability: an EEG study

Intellectual disability has long been associated with deficits in socio-emotional processing. However, studies investigating brain dynamics of maladaptive socio-emotional skills associated with intellectual disability are scarce. Here, we compared differences in brain activity between low intelligence quotient (I.Q.<75, N=13) and normal controls (N=15) while evaluating their subjective emotions. Positive (P) and negative (N) valenced pictures were presented one at a time to participants of both groups, at a rate of ¾. The task required that each participant evaluate their subjective emotion and press a predefined push-button when done, alternatively P and N. Electroencephalographic (EEG) signals were continuously recorded, and the 1000ms time window following each picture was analyzed offline for power in frequency domain. Alpha low (8-10Hz) and upper (10-13Hz) frequency bands were then compared for both groups and for both P and N emotions in 12 distributed scalp electrodes. The qualitative evaluation of emotions was similar between both groups, with constant longer reaction times for the low IQ participants. The EEG signal comparison shows marked power decrease in upper alpha frequency range for N emotions in low intelligence group. Otherwise no significant difference was noticed between low and normal IQ. Main findings of the present study are (1) results do not support the hypothesis that impairment in developmental intelligence roots in maladaptive emotional processing; (2) the strong alpha power suppression during negative-induced emotions suggests the involvement of an extended neural network and more effortful inhibition processes than positive ones. We call for further studies with a larger sample.

Disability Rights Guide for Iowans, May 2015

Individuals with disabilities have civil rights protection similar to that provided to individuals on the basis of race, sex, national origin, and religion. The advent of the Americans with Disabilities Act has improved these protections and brought this issue into the forefront. This book is not intended to be a legal translation of state or federal laws. Its purpose is to assist people with disabilities in understanding their rights. Please consult the Code of Iowa, the appropriate federal laws or an attorney if you need a legal interpretation.

Audit report on the Peace Officers' Retirement, Accident and Disability System for the year ended June 30, 2015

Audit report on the Peace Officers' Retirement, Accident and Disability System for the year ended June 30, 2015

Report on the Peace Officers’ Retirement, Accident and Disability System, Schedule of Employer Pension Amounts required to implement Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement No. 68, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Pensions for the year ended June 30, 2015

Report on the Peace Officers’ Retirement, Accident and Disability System, Schedule of Employer Pension Amounts required to implement Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement No. 68, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Pensions for the year ended June 30, 2015

Aging and Disability Resource Center and MHDS Commission Home Modification Assistance Program Plan, December 2015

This report was prepared as a directive to Aging and Disability Resource Centers and The Mental Health and Disability Commission to jointly develop a plan for a home modification assistance program to provide grants and individual income tax credits to assist with expenses related to the making or permanent home modifications that permit individual with a disability to remain in the homes.

Vision, spatial cognition and intellectual disability.

Vision is the most synthetic sensory channel and it provides specific information about the relative position of distant landmarks during visual exploration. In this paper we propose that visual exploration, as assessed by the recording of eye movements, offers an original method to analyze spatial cognition and to reveal alternative adaptation strategies in people with intellectual disabilities (ID). Our general assumption is that eye movement exploration may simultaneously reveal whether, why, and how, compensatory strategies point to specific difficulties related to neurological symptoms. An understanding of these strategies will also help in the development of optimal rehabilitation procedures.

Iowa Mental Health and Disability Services Commission, January 2016

This Annual Report of the Iowa Mental Health and Disability Services Commission (the Commission) is being submitted pursuant to Iowa Code § 225C.6(1)(h). The report is organized in two sections: (1) an overview of the activities of the Commission during 2015, and (2) recommendations formulated by the Commission for changes in Iowa law.