People with learning disabilities with schizophrenia and related psychoses have been found to be more likely to be treatment resistant than those without learning disabilities. This paper describes a case study which highlights many of the issues faced when carrying out assessments and developing management plans for such individuals.

The authors point out that Clozapine, used as the best available intervention for treatment-resistant schizophrenia at the moment, is being used far more frequently with people with learning disabilities, although it is not at all clear that it is effective with this group.

There is range of strategies for the management of treatment resistant psychosis, but the authors suggest that the evidence base for the use of these strategies in people with learning disabilities is insufficient currently and they suggest further research to improve this.

Treatment-resistant schizophrenia in intellectual disabilities: a case study, Hemmings C et al., in Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 5, 2, 35-40