Occupational therapy needs of adults with a developmental disability: A rapidly emerging area of practice

Introduction: Adults with developmental disabilities struggle to find services to meet their occupational performance and specific health needs. During transition to adulthood, access to specialist services significantly diminishes, with the needs of these young adults met by mainstream services. The recent introduction of transition services for young adults with complex disability has attempted to address this gap in specialist services. Most clinics work with young people between the ages of 15 and 25. Occupational therapists working within these services are inundated with referrals, as each young person transitions into adulthood and develops their own occupational identity. Objectives: The aim of the paper is to highlight the current situation for young adults with complex disability, in a health system with limited access to specialist services, minimal resources and extensive waiting lists. Approach: The authors have critically reviewed the literature, investigated international best practice in delivery of occupational therapy services for adults with developmental disabilities and drawn from their own clinical experiences. Conclusion: The health system reacts to crises in this population. Proactive, long term, preventative health care to encourage independence and function for young adults with complex disability is lacking, leading to social and economic disparities as well as deprivation of a person's potential to fulfil their desired occupational role and identity. With the advent of the NDIS, the need for proactive intervention from occupational therapists is required to assist young adults with developmental disability to meet their developing occupational roles in self-care, productivity and leisure