Mental illness is a global concern – it does not discriminate, and anyone can develop a mental illness at any point in their life. Recent <\/span>research<\/span><\/a> undertaken in Kenya has evidenced the problematic situation in the country – with mental health conditions on the rise and insufficient services to deal with those who are suffering. This is leading to millions of Kenyans struggling in silence, with nowhere to turn, and no way to help themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n For the children we care for – those with a wide range of disabilities – mental illness is a particular concern. First, many disabilities come with an increased likelihood of developing a mental health condition – certain mental health disorders are found at a much higher rate in certain disabilities or impairments. Additionally, mental health research is primarily conducted on individuals without special needs – this means that mental health research for people with disabilities is lacking, and the interventions developed can be less effective.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Diagnostic Overshadowing<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Another issue facing many children with disabilities is something called diagnostic overshadowing – this is where symptoms indicative of mental illness are missed because they are interpreted as symptoms inherent within the child\u2019s disability. An example of this might be increased fatigue for a child with Cerebral Palsy being attributed to the disability, rather than potentially being a symptom of depression. Similarly, a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder might have symptoms of anxiety missed, because the doctor attributes certain behaviours of anxiety (aggression, rigidity, repetitive behaviours) as solely being attributable to autism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Autism Spectrum Disorder<\/span><\/a> (ASD)<\/span><\/p>\n For people living with ASD, mental health is a serious concern, but it is an issue that is often missed. Due to the varied and atypical presentation, sometimes it is difficult to determine what is a symptom of mental illness and what is a reflection of ASD. As such, children with ASD do not get the treatment they need, and their mental health concerns are left to deepen and worsen over time. Common co-occurring mental health conditions include:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Down\u2019s Syndrome<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Children with Down\u2019s Syndrome are born with extra genetic material, and it is this genetic material that causes many health conditions. For children and adults with Down\u2019s Syndrome, there is a 50% likelihood that they will develop a significant mental health impairment at some point during their life – this likelihood increases as the amount of co-occurring medical conditions do.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Cerebral Palsy<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Mental and physical health have a reciprocal relationship – poor physical health conditions lead to increased mental health impairment; similarly, increased mental illness results in decreased physical health overall. Young children with Cerebral Palsy are more vulnerable to developing mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, because they face higher rates of stress, are more likely to struggle with chronic pain and fatigue, and they are not being equipped with the coping skills they need to navigate the specific transitional struggles they face at certain developmental stages.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Hearing Impairments<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Unlike the above disabilities, hearing impairments are pretty unitary disabilities – symptomatically they relate mostly to the physical symptom of impaired hearing or total loss of hearing. This means it is easier to discern mental health issues in children with hearing impairment, because there aren\u2019t as many symptoms to complicate a diagnosis.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The above are just a few examples of disabilities that increase problematic mental health outcomes. In reality, a majority of disabilities come with an associated risk of an increased likelihood of mental illness. Why?<\/span><\/p>\n Isolation<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Many children with disabilities, especially in some contexts, are isolated. They are not understood by the people around them, they find it harder to make and maintain friendships with peers who are not like them, or they are treated as an outsider because of their disability. Social isolation comes with a significantly increased risk for negative mental health outcomes, and it can lead to damaged self-esteem, which itself exacerbates the potential for mental illness.<\/span><\/p>\n Trauma and Abuse<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n In our previous blog, we explored the increased rates of abuse faced by children with disabilities. The devastating fact is that children with many types of disabilities are significantly more likely to face trauma in their young life, instances of trauma and ongoing abuse set the foundation for pervasive mental health problems later in life.<\/span><\/p>\n Pain and Fatigue<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Many chronic physical, and some intellectual, impairments come with increased chronic pain (i.e. Cerebral Palsy) or fatigue (i.e. Down\u2019s Syndrome). Problematically, both pain and fatigue make an individual more vulnerable to stressors and less able to cope with difficult situations, situations that are more likely to occur for them as a result of their disability.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It is essential that mental health research increases its inclusivity – both extending outwards into other geographical contexts and by including a more diverse range of people in the research undertaken. In doing this, we can ensure that those who live their life with a disability have specialised diagnostic tools and interventions that are developed uniquely for them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For children with disability, so much of their lived experience comes with extra challenges attached – it is our duty to alleviate some of these problems and to empower children with disabilies, so that they can achieve their unique potential.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Madeleine McMurray<\/i><\/b> has a BA in Liberal Arts from Leiden University and an MSc in Psychology from the University of Nottingham. She has a heart for mental health and disability in developing contexts and she spent the past year interning at two organisations in East Africa. Madeleine currently divides her time at home in England between assisting Kuhenza (Kenya) and <\/span><\/i>EMFERD<\/span><\/i><\/a> (Tanzania) on their communications and data analysis.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Want to read more blogs like this? You can follow us on <\/span>Facebook<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Instagram,<\/span><\/a> or check out our <\/span>website<\/span><\/a>. You\u2019ll never miss a thing!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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