This document lays out the differences between mental health conditions and developmental disabilities, explaining why it is important to know the difference and common behaviors and characteristics of each.
This brief, informational document presents an explanation of the differences between mental health conditions, also known as mental illnesses, and developmental disabilities. The document defines the two: a mental health condition can affect mood, thinking, and/or behavior; and a developmental disability is a physical and/or mental impairment that begins before age 22, is likely to continue indefinitely, and results in functional limitations in either one or several abilities such as self-care, walking/moving around, self-direction, independent living, economic self-sufficiency, or language. The document provides the various categories of mental health conditions and developmental disabilities; it highlights common characteristics and behaviors that may be observed with each, and emphasizes the differences between the conditions and how treatment varies depending on a person’s affliction.
Downloads
Similar Publications
- Long-Term Memory in Adults Exposed to Childhood Violence: Remembering Genital Contact Nearly 20 Years Later
- Is the Gender Gap in Overdose Deaths (Still) Decreasing? An Examination of Opioid Deaths in Delaware, 2013–2017
- Insights into turning points from the perspective of young people with out-of-home care experience: events, impact and facilitators of change