About Intellectual Disability Mental Health Connect

 

Intellectual Disability Mental Health Connect is a website that aims to help people with intellectual disability get quality support for their mental health.

This website is for:

• people with intellectual disability
• their carers, families, support workers, friends, and advocates
• mental health professionals and GPs, and
• health, disability, and social service professionals.

It can be hard to find your way through the mental health system.

Professionals are also often not sure how best to support people with intellectual disability.

This website provides information on pathways to mental health care for people with intellectual disability.

It is aimed at people who live in NSW Australia. However, much of the information will also be of use to people living elsewhere.

 

Information for people with intellectual disability

Intellectual Disability Mental Health Connect provides information on:

• when
• where and
• how you can find services and support for your mental health.

It also lets you know:

• what happens along the way from your first appointment to getting better
• how you can advocate for yourself if you find it hard to get the right support. To advocate means to have your voice heard so your needs are met.
• tips for good mental health.

 

Information for family and support persons

Carers, family, support workers, friends, and advocates play a key role when supporting a person with intellectual disability to seek help for their mental health. Many supporters tell us how complex it can be to navigate the mental health system.

Intellectual Disability Mental Health Connect provides information on how you can best support someone with intellectual disability to have good mental health, access mental health services, and how you can look after yourself during this time.

 

Information for professionals

People with intellectual disability can face barriers to accessing mainstream mental health services in Australia. Mental health professionals often report that they would like more information around how they can best meet the mental health needs of people with intellectual disability.

Intellectual Disability Mental Health Connect aims to promote high quality and collaborative approaches to service delivery for this population.

It offers mainstream mental health professionals and GPs detailed information on mental health care pathways for people with intellectual disability. It also offers health, disability, and social service professionals ways they can best support a person across such a care pathway.

 

About 3DN

 

The Department of Developmental Disability Neuropsychiatry (3DN) started in 2009.

3DN is a department within the University of NSW (UNSW Sydney).

3DN supports the right of people with intellectual or developmental disability to have the same level of health and mental health care as the rest of the population.

They work to improve the health and mental health of people with intellectual or developmental disability by:

• research
• providing education for health workers on intellectual and developmental disability
• providing education for disability workers on mental health
• commenting on policies that will help people with intellectual or developmental disability.

The work of the Chair, Intellectual Disability Mental Health is funded by the Mental Health Branch, NSW Ministry of Health and NHMRC grant GNT2009771.

 

3DN’s Vision

The highest standard of mental health and wellbeing for people with intellectual or developmental disability.

 

3DN’s Mission

To improve health policy, practice, and supports for people with intellectual or developmental disability, with a focus on mental health and wellbeing.

 

The following 3DN staff members were involved in developing Intellectual Disability Mental Health Connect.

• Dr Janelle Weise
• Claire Eagleson
• Dr Jenna Zhao
• Tahli Hind
• Dominique Abagi
• Professor Julian Trollor

 

Newsletter

Sign up for 3DN’s newsletter at

www.3dn.unsw.edu.au/subscribe or email [email protected].

We will not share your email with anyone.

 

About CID

 

The Council for Intellectual Disability (CID) are a disability rights organisation led by people with intellectual disability.

People with intellectual disability are at the front and centre of everything CID do – they are their decision-makers, staff members, board members and spokespeople.

CID speak up on the big issues and campaign for change. They talk to organisations about becoming more inclusive and accessible.

Through CID people with intellectual disability, their families and supporters can learn skills, and actively take part in the community.

CID provide information, hold workshops, and develop useful resources. They share people’s stories and support them to connect with peers.

CID focus on issues that are important to people with intellectual disability, such as mental and physical health, the NDIS, jobs, education, transport, and safety.

 

CID’s vision

CID want a community where all people with intellectual disability are valued.

They believe people with disability should have the same opportunities as everyone else.

CID work to build a community that protects rights, includes everyone, and supports people well.

 

Acknowledgements

 

This project was funded under the Australian Government’s Information Linkages and Capacity Building program.

Chief investigators for this program are Professor Julian Trollor and Dr Janelle Weise in consortium with the Council for Intellectual Disability.

We thank all Council for Intellectual Disability members who have helped to create Intellectual Disability Mental Health Connect. Council for Intellectual Disability staff have contributed in multiple ways, including being members of the Project Advisory Group and reviewing Easy Read content.

 

We wish to acknowledge the advice and guidance provided by the Lived Experience Advisory group and Project Advisory Group.

Lived Experience Advisory Group

• Ruth Cromer
• Ben Dominish
• Katrina Sneath
• Matthew Tan
• Chelsea Thomas

Project Advisory Group

• Aimee Blackam, Mental Health Branch, NSW Ministry of Health
• Dr Jeffrey Chan, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
• Dr Lynne Coulson Barr, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
• Melissa Docker, Carers NSW
• Jo-Anne Hewitt, Achieve Australia
• Mary Higson, Transcultural Mental Health Centre
• Deborah Howe, Agency for Clinical Innovation
• Merryn John, Western NSW LHD Specialist Intellectual Disability Health Team
• Sarah Judd-Lam, Carers NSW
• Lynette Matthews, Mental Health Commission of New South Wales
• Vincent Ponzio, Mental Health Branch, NSW Ministry of Health
• Nikki Roach, Department of Health
• Kylee Roberts, South Western Sydney LHD Specialist Intellectual Disability Health Team
• Melinda Smith, Cognitive Disability Services, Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network
• Phillip Snoyman, Corrective Services NSW, Department of Communities and Justice
• Dr Jane Tracy
• Denise West, Scope Australia
• Steve Widders, Council for Intellectual Disability

Organisations represent those the individual worked at while a member of the group.

 

With thanks to those who assisted with expert review of the website content

• Dr Adrian Davis, St George Mental Health Unit, St George Hospital
• Maria-Lujza Ghyczy, Transcultural Mental Health Centre
• Katrina Halpin, SAL Consulting
• Rob Hardy, LGBTIQ+ Health Australia
• Michelle Henwood, SAL Consulting
• Mary Higson, Transcultural Mental Health Centre
• Katherine Ingham, Transcultural Mental Health Centre
• Merryn John, Western NSW LHD Specialist Intellectual Disability Health Team
• Cassandra Lamond, Transcultural Mental Health Centre
• Harrison Ng Chok, Transcultural Mental Health Centre
• Dr Clint Pistilli, Concord Centre for Mental Health, Sydney LHD and Southern NSW LHD Intellectual Disability Mental Health Service
• Melinda Smith, Cognitive Disability Services, Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network
• Phillip Snoyman, Corrective Services NSW, Department of Communities and Justice
• Steve Widders, Council for Intellectual Disability

 

Thank you to the Icon Agency who designed and built this website.

Thank you to Samuel Barber ([email protected]) and Alyssa Mullen ([email protected]) for creating the introductory animation.

With thanks to Shelley Barons ([email protected]) for proofreading the website content.

We would like to thank all participants who took part in consultation interviews prior to the development of the website and those who have assisted with website user testing and feedback.

The majority of pictures used in the Easy Read sections on this website are made by Photosymbols.