First off, I’m not seeking diagnosis or medical advice. I’m interested in anecdotal experience and good sources for more info. Thus endeth the disclaimer.
My mom has custody of her mentally disabled sister - she’s 65, but mentally and emotionally, she’s probably not even 10. In recent years, the sister has gotten more and more angry at everything - slamming doors, cussing, yelling, zero tolerance for anything.
My thoroughly uneducated opinion is that she may have depression on top of her other problems. I should mention she’s on a number of meds for her heart and a few other conditions.
Is this the sort of thing an ordinary GP can deal with, or would she be better served by a specialist? I can’t help but think that all of her meds and her lifelong OCD are whipping her into this angry frenzy and as good as her doctor may be, she might be helped more by a physician who also deals with mental health issues, if such a thing exists.
At one point, I suggested to my mom that anti-depressants might help, and the GP prescribed some “happy pills” as he called them - that was an instant concern for me. Overall, it’s a very unpleasant situation - my mom is dealing with the frustration of her sister and probably guilt for feeling frustrated since her sister was born with so many problems. And my aunt is just so very unhappy all the time. It wasn’t always like this.
So, is there a particular type of doctor I might recommend to my mom for her sister? If it makes a difference, they live near Baltimore.
I would suggest looking into if there is a psychiatrist at either U of MD or Johns Hopkins who specializes in treating people with developmental delay/intellectual disability that you can get her in to see.
Family doctors are specialists in treating common problems, and this is more of an unusual situation where some of the nuances might be missed by someone who is not used to screening someone with an intellectual disability for mental illness.
Sometimes people with intellectual disabilities act out because they are in physical discomfort and can’t verbalize it in the normal way, so it may be worth mentioning to her family doctor for that reason as well, but I’d definitely try to get her in to see a psychiatrist who is familiar with working with patients like this.
Learning disability psychiatry is provided throughout the UK by the NHS. I don’t know what system there would be in the USA but I would be surprised if it was difficult to find a consultant. It might also be worth finding out if learning disability psychologists and other health professionals were available (unfortunately in the UK they tend to have a very long waiting list).
I used to work for a mental health agency that primary served clients with developmental disabilities. Yes, there are psychiatrists who specialize in pharmacology for the DD client.
If you want to PM me, I could help you find resources in your area.
I’m willing to bet my mom never considered a psychiatrist, because I certainly never did either. I guess it’s because we associate it with mental illness rather than a developmental problem. I expect she assumes my aunt is the way she is because her brain has never worked well.
I don’t know if it would be related, but she’s got Parkinson’s also, and I think she’s on some sort of restricted diet. I know she has had heart problems her whole life - in fact, when she was born, she wasn’t expected to live past her teens.
Anyway, thanks for the answers, and lorene, I sent you a PM - thanks!
**lorene **- thanks so much for the link. I had no idea there were so many resources in my mom’s county. I shared it with her along with a compilation of the comments posted here. I do appreciate the information!