Introduction

Individuals with intellectual disabilities and personality disorders can be very complex to support and few LD trained staff have the skills to address their needs. Many approaches traditionally developed and used with individuals with personality disorder are too complex to use with people with learning disabilities without skilled adaptation. This handbook bridges this gap in resources and gives staff a framework for understanding and addressing the problems that arise when an individual has both intellectual disabilities and a personality disorder. The handbook introduces personality disorders, their epidemiology and how to recognise them. It examines how a personality disorder is shaped by an individual’s intellectual disability and the difficulties this may lead to. It also explores a range of practical approaches to any difficulties that may arise to help staff work more effectively with this client group.