Intellectual Disability, Abuse and

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) have been found to be more at risk for all types of abuse than peers without disabilities. Although prevalence rates vary depending on the population examined, reports from studies between 1995 and 2005 are consistent with previous studies indicating that, in general, children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities were from three to seven times more likely to have been abused when compared with children and adolescents who were not disabled.

Overall, children and adolescents with any type of disability are more at risk for abuse. Although research has varied significantly when comparing abuse among individuals with different types of disability, data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System found that between 2005 and 2011, the greatest frequency ...