Welcome to the 22nd WCP Congress Program Scheduling

The Working Group (WG) on Intellectual Disabilities/Intellectual Developmental Disorders (IDD) under the auspices of the WPA leadership is developing a Position Statement (PA) on the Rights of Persons with IDD. To date, no such prior document exists. This WPA Presidential Action Plan sponsored symposium will describe the principal aims of the PA addressing the needs for inclusive services, training, and research for improved mental health outcomes for persons with IDD across the lifespan. An important justification for the PA is that mainstream psychiatry as a profession has the potential to appreciably improve the mental health care of persons with IDD with special relevance for low-resource settings. The symposium will also provide a backdrop on the path-breaking scholarship of the Harvard Law School’s Project on Disability involved in the drafting of the UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) working with disability organizations and governments, as well as UN bodies and national human rights institutions globally. The framework on the classification of IDD as a neurodevelopmental condition is now acknowledged in both the DSM-5 and ICD-5 as a key impetus for a paradigm shift in the field. A second major change will be emphasized that now requires inclusive grassroots implementation of person-centered care tailored to the abilities and aspirations of affected persons, blending the social and medical models of development and disability within a human rights framework. Reference: Stein MA, et al. Mental health, legal capacity, and human rights. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 2021.