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Curbside Consultation

Caring for Adults With Intellectual Disabilities in the Community

Emily Johnson, MD
Clarissa C. Kripke, MD

American Family Physician. 2025;111(3):267-270.

Author disclosure: No relevant financial relationships.

EMILY JOHNSON, MD, FAADM, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Ohio

CLARISSA C. KRIPKE, MD, FAAFP, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California San Francisco

Address correspondence to Emily Johnson, MD, FAADM, at emily.johnson805@gmail.com.

Author disclosure: No relevant financial relationships.

  1. 1.Administration for Community Living. Person-centered planning. Updated September 19, 2024. Accessed October 11, 2024. https://acl.gov/programs/consumer-control/person-centered-planning
  2. 2.Larson SA, Butterworth J, Winsor J, et al.; Administration for Community Living. 30 years of community living for individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (1987–2017); 2021. Updated May 16, 2023. Accessed October 11, 2024. https://acl.gov/sites/default/files/Aging%20and%20Disability%20in%20America/30%20Years%207-13-21.pdf
  3. 3.Kozma A, Mansell J, Beadle-Brown J. Outcomes in different residential settings for people with intellectual disability: a systematic review. Am J Intellect Dev Disabil. 2009;114(3):193-222.
  4. 4.McCarron M, Lombard-Vance R, Murphy E, et al. Effect of deinstitutionalisation on quality of life for adults with intellectual disabilities: a systematic review. BMJ Open. 2019;9(4):e025735.
  5. 5.Oliver S, Gosden-Kaye EZ, Winkler D, et al. The outcomes of individualized housing for people with disability and complex needs: a scoping review. Disabil Rehabil. 2022;44(7):1141-1155.
  6. 6.Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Home and community based services. January 10, 2014. Accessed October 11, 2024. https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/home-and-community-based-services
  7. 7.Reaves EL, Musumeci MB; Kaiser Family Foundation. Medicaid and long-term services and supports: a primer. December 15, 2015. Accessed August 15, 2024. https://www.kff.org/medicaid/report/medicaid-and-long-term-services-and-supports-a-primer
  8. 8.McLean KJ, Hoekstra AM, Bishop L. United States Medicaid home and community-based services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities: a scoping review. J Appl Res Intellect Disabil. 2021;34(3):684-694.
  9. 9.Carlson SR, Munandar V, Thompson JR. Outcomes for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities receiving long-term services and supports: a systematic review of the literature. Intellect Dev Disabil. 2024;62(2):137-150.
  10. 10.Brady NC, Bruce S, Goldman A, et al. Communication services and supports for individuals with severe disabilities: guidance for assessment and intervention. Am J Intellect Dev Disabil. 2016;121(2):121-138.
  11. 11.Devi N. Supported decision-making and personal autonomy for persons with intellectual disabilities: article 12 of the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. J Law Med Ethics. 2013;41(4):792-806.
  12. 12.American Bar Association. PRACTICAL tool; May 7, 2016. Accessed October 11, 2024. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/law_aging/resources/guardianship_law_practice/practical_tool/
  13. 13.Kripke C. Evaluation of behavior change in patients with developmental disabilities [Curbside Consultation]. Am Fam Physician. 2016;93(8):686-692.
  14. 14.Marks B, Sisirak J, Heller T. Health promotion and people with intellectual disability. In: Prasher VP, Janicki MP, eds. Physical Health of Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. 2nd ed. Springer; 2019: 359–379.

Case scenarios are written to express typical situations that family physicians may encounter; authors remain anonymous. Send scenarios to afpjournal@aafp.org. Materials are edited to retain confidentiality.

This series is coordinated by Caroline Wellbery, MD, associate deputy editor.

A collection of Curbside Consultation published in AFP is available at https://www.aafp.org/afp/curbside.

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