There is a high level of medication usage among people with intellectual disability due to the presence of significant morbidity and co-morbidities. This review sought to explore medication management and administration in intellectual disability settings, identifying frameworks for practice, analysing whether collaborative practice led to better outcomes, identifying key processes associated with practice, locating tools to support practice and describing metrics for outcome measurement. A systematic review was conducted with analysis of 64 sources which remained following screening and appraisal. Limited evidence was identified with some insight into the processes underpinning medication management and administration. No assessment tools were found, but two potential outcome measures, adherence and errors, were noted. The paucity of guidelines and frameworks is concerning as this is a complex area of practice. There is a need for further practice development and research to be undertaken that takes note of the unique issues that can present in intellectual disability settings.

Most people with intellectual disabilities (IDs) live at home with family, and most carers and care recipients wish to continue this arrangement. However, despite worry about what will happen when carers are unable to continue caring, most families do not plan for the future. The Future Care Road Map (FCRM) pilot study sought to enhance future care planning for families of adults with ID. Twelve families were facilitated through the FCRM process to establish future care plans, including future living and care arrangements. The pilot successfully improved future planning, but readiness of families and facilitation were important to outcomes. Continued care within the family was the most common future wish of care recipients. However, caring capacity emerged as a pervasive theme. Ultimately, it may be the capacity of the family, services or individual with ID themselves to provide future care which determines how feasibly future wishes translate into future plans.

Attachment difficulties are associated with a range of adverse outcomes in mental health, and people with intellectual disabilities (IDs) may be at greater risk of experiencing difficulties in their attachment relationships. This review critically evaluated recent research measuring the prevalence of attachment difficulties in people with ID. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria, and a higher prevalence of insecure and disorganized attachment classifications, and symptoms of attachment disorder, was found across a number of subgroups of people with diagnoses of ID. However, the validity and reliability of measures of attachment have not been empirically established in this population, and control groups were not always appropriate. These findings indicate the need to (1) develop reliable and standardized assessments of attachment for people with ID and (2) evaluate the efficacy of attachment-based interventions in relation to reducing psychological distress, mental health problems and expression of behaviours experienced by others as challenging.

People with intellectual disabilities (IDs) are considered to be one of the most marginalized, isolated and disenfranchised groups in society. However, recent social prescription intervention programmes are being introduced to enhance the physical and mental well-being of these individuals through participation in leisure activities, thus increasing academic interest in research within the area. This article introduces the theoretical and methodological tensions in applying mainstream scholarly thinking of leisure and well-being to people with IDs and argues that by failing to acknowledge and address such tensions scholars are at risk of demonstrating intellectual ableism. Layering Kleiber's components of leisure over Seligman's Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment concept of well-being, this article poses critical questions of how each contributing element of well-being could be reconceptualized for people with neurological diversities. The intersection of leisure, well-being and ID is ripe for research development; however, many studies in the domain are falling short of suitable theoretical discussion and methodological rigour. This article concludes with suggestions on how scholars can reduce intellectual ableism through inclusive design, methodological reporting, acknowledging bias and grappling theoretical dissonance.

Primary care providers are the main point of contact with the healthcare system for individuals with intellectual disability, and they may have pre-existing attitudes towards this group that impacts care. We examined whether participants' gender, age, professional status and experience with individuals with intellectual disability were associated with attitudes by surveying 95 family physicians, family medicine trainees and advanced practice nursing students across a Canadian province. Younger participants were more likely to feel that those with intellectual disability are similar to themselves and that individuals with intellectual disability should be empowered to take control of their lives. Older participants were more likely to believe that individuals with intellectual disability are vulnerable. These findings suggest there may be a generational difference in attitudes, and educational interventions may be needed to ameliorate attitudes among older primary care providers to reduce the impact of pre-existing attitudes on the provision of care.

Social media is a growing phenomenon, yet people with intellectual disability (ID) may not experience comparable access to this communication technology. Adolescents with ID may benefit from e-inclusion, especially as individuals with ID are at risk of having smaller social networks. The Social Network Guide was adapted to measure social media usage and used to examine the interpersonal relationships of adolescents with and without ID. Adolescents with ID held smaller social networks with less developed informal relationships. However, friendship quality was comparable or superior to typically developing peers. Adolescents with ID interacted with a smaller percentage of contacts using social media. Social media use was predictive of the number of reported friendships and did not significantly predict critical comments. Findings suggest that adolescents with ID have comparable access to social media but use these sites to interact with a smaller number of social contacts.