Dual Diagnosis

What is a Dual Diagnosis?

Dual Diagnosis is the co-existence of the symptoms of both intellectual or developmental disabilities and mental health problems. The identification of psychiatric disorders in persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities is not a new phenomenon, but it has received much more attention in recent years. The process of deinstitutionalization (individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities released from institutions and placed in community residences) has increased the visibility of dual diagnosis. – NADD (An association for persons with developmental disabilities and mental health needs).