Ep. 16 - Needless Suffering

Sometimes behavior isn't a behavior problem. Sometimes aggression is actually dental pain. Sometimes refusal to eat is acid reflux. Sometimes a sleepless night, or a sudden outburst or a dramatic change in mood is a person's only way of communicating that something is wrong. Sometimes these are actually underlying medical issues that practitioners and physicians simply aren’t seeing because they don’t have the right training.   Lindsey sits down with Dr. Craig Escudé, one of the nation's leading experts in healthcare for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), to explore a blind spot hiding in plain sight: the gap between behavioral and medical care. Drawing on nearly 30 years of experience, Dr. Escudé explains why behavior is communication, how clinicians and physicians alike can miss critical underlying health issues, and why many medical professionals receive little to no formal training on caring for people with I/DD. The consequences can be profound – from unnecessary suffering to missed diagnoses and preventable hospitalizations. Lindsey and Craig discuss the dangers of diagnostic overshadowing, the importance of seeing people as people first rather than diagnoses, and the systemic changes needed to ensure more equitable care. With approximately 1 in 6 people in the United States living with one or more developmental disabilities or delays, the need for better training, stronger collaboration and integrated care has never been more clear. Resources mentioned in this episode: - Curriculum in IDD Healthcare eLearning course: Curriculum in IDD Healthcare eLearn - IntellectAbility - IntellectAbility’s free IDD Perspectives webinar series:  Webinars - IntellectAbility - Free resources and articles from IntellectAbility: Intellectual Disability Services, Intellectual Disability Definition - Dr. Craig Escudé’s book: Clinical Pearls in IDD Healthcare: Second Edition - IntellectAbility - Dr. Craig Escudé’s podcast: IDD Health Matters Podcast - Catalight hospitalization study: Large-Scale Study Finds Autistic Youth Far More Likely to Be Hospitalized for Mental Health Conditions - Catalight - Catalight sleep study: Study Links Poor Sleep to Increased Risky Behavior Among Autistic People - Catalight