HEALTH DISPARITIES FOR ADULTS WITH IDD MAKE INCLUSIVE HEALTH A WORTHY GOAL

[...]they may have little or no experience with people with disabilities in their lives, so they may not feel equipped to interact appropriately. * Clinicians may feel inadequate or anxious. * Medical facilities and equipment may not be physically accessible, such as scales to weigh someone who uses a wheelchair or an examination table that allows for easy transfers. * Access to health care providers may be limited by a lack of health insurance or by the type of insurance, such as TennCare/Medicaid. * Health care providers may have concerns about issues of consent and conservatorship for the individual with IDD. * Lack of a primary care provider may lead to people using the Emergency Room for most of their care, which is not cost-effective, convenient or suitable for routine care. * Clinicians may allow an individual's diagnosis of autism, Down syndrome or other developmental disability to "overshadow" other possible diagnoses of physical or mental health conditions. * Reimbursement issues, since treating patients with disabilities may take longer than a "typical" office visit would take. (Please check it out!) The IDD Toolkit project, which was funded by a grant from the WITH Foundation (https://withfoundation.org), has also led us to create online training for medical professionals as well as for individuals with disabilities, family members and caregivers (https://ucedd.vkcleaming.org) about the special facets of health care for adults with IDD. [...]we've done several telehealth sessions (live videoconferences) with community health care providers, offering sessions on such topics as epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder, the special physical health care needs and behavioral health needs of adults with IDD. According to the website, inclusive health is "the inclusion of all people, including people with intellectual disabilities (ID), in mainstream health policies and laws, programming, and services, training programs, Folks with iDD have often research, and funding streams." The benefits include: * Medical school loan forgiveness or reductions * Special visas for foreign medical school graduates * Expansion of physician and dentist training in the care of patients with IDD * Funding for more preventive care and screenings for those with IDD * Community health center grants to provide care specifically to this population * Prioritization in research of issues affecting people with IDD The best ways to advocate for such a designation are contacting the gov