This page is designed to answer the following questions:
- 1.1 Identify possible multiple conditions and/or disabilities individuals may have (Level 2 Diploma in Care, Contribute to the support of individuals with multiple conditions and/or disabilities)
When we talk about individuals with multiple conditions/disabilities, we are referring to individuals who have two or more of the following:
- Physical disabilities e.g. cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, spinal cord injury (SCI) etc.
- Sensory loss e.g. visually-impaired, hearing impaired etc.
- Mental health conditions e.g. schizophrenia, depression, anxiety etc.
- Physical health conditions e.g. diabetes, obesity etc.
- Learning disability e.g. Downs syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome etc.
- Learning difficulty e.g. dyslexia, dyscalculia etc.
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Drug/alcohol misuse
It is becoming more common that individuals with a disability or other condition will develop further health conditions in their lives.
For example, 50% of babies born with Down’s Syndrome also have Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) and/or vision issues such as cataracts. Individuals with Down’s Syndrome are also a higher-risk group for hearing loss, hypothyroidism, blood disorders, hypotonia, sleep disorders, dental issues, epilepsy, digestive issues, celiac disease and mental health conditions.
Some disabilities or conditions may trigger further disabilities or conditions. For example, somebody that has a degenerative disease such as Multiple Sclerosis may develop a mental health condition such as depression as they deteriorate and are no longer able to get about as well as they used to.
Many individuals with autism also suffer from anxiety due to the worry of not understanding how to behave in social situations.
Individuals with paranoid schizophrenia are much more likely to have a substance or alcohol abuse problem than the general population.
Individuals with dementia are likely to have other age-related physical health problems.