Appropriate Use of Psychotropic Medications for People with IDD: Helping Individuals Get the Best Behavioral Health Care

NOTE: This course ended 12/31/2021 and is no longer available.  If you received a direct link to the course after this date, the system will allow you to view any video content, but the course cannot be completed for credit.

This training offers health care providers strategies and tools to care for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who have challenging behavior or mental health concerns. The training includes approaches for patients who have communication barriers and presents some common physical health conditions that can lead to challenging behavior as well as other causes of challenging behavior, such as environmental or sensory issues. The modules also outline an approach for evaluating psychiatric symptoms, a review of non-pharmacological treatment options, and best practice criteria for using psychotropic medications for adults with IDD.

Additional Resources:

• IDD Toolkit
• Surrey Place Centre, publisher of the original "Tools for the Primary Care of People with Developmental Disabilities."
• Tennessee Association for Behavior Analysis
• A searchable database of Tennessee disability resources, including information in other languages
• The Council on Quality and Leadership
• Disability Etiquette and People First Language
• Health Disparities of Adults with Intellectual Disabilities.pdf
• International guide to prescribing psychotropic medication.pdf
• Primary care of adults with developmental disabilities.pdf
• SISI.pdf
• Sometimes I feel Overwhelmed.pdf

This training is not mandatory, but clinical rationale may be required to determine TennCare coverage of psychotropic medications for people with IDD.

If you have questions, comments or concerns regarding the content of this training series, please contact the Bureau of TennCare at: [email protected]

The content of this material was reviewed in December, 2018. 

1. Name 3 key elements in communicating with people with IDD
2. List 2 features for each of the levels of ID: mild, moderate, severe, and profound
3. List 2 evidence-based tools from each of the sections of the IDD Toolkit: general issues, physical health issues, health watch tables, and behavioral and mental health issues
4. Identify 3 physical health problems that may present as challenging behavior or psychiatric conditions
5. Outline the approach to a patient presenting with challenging behavior and 2 tools which provide a framework to assist with diagnosis
6. Discuss how autism spectrum disorder might be misdiagnosed as a psychotic disorder
7. Describe briefly the role for psychotropic medications in the treatment of adults with IDD
8. Describe briefly the role for non-pharmacologic treatments for challenging behavior in adults with IDD

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center designates this live activity for a maximum 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.