958 Issues and challenges of dual diagnosis of autism and intellectual disabilities Cory Shulman Abstract Autism spectrum disorder describes individuals with a specific combination of impairments in social communication and repetitive behaviors, highly restricted interests and/or sensory behaviors beginning early in life. Autism often co-occurs with intellectual disability (ID) and the purpose of this chapter is to address their significant overlap, by examining issues related to assessment and diagnosis, biological underpinnings, and the combined impact of the level of cognitive functioning and autism on the presentation of autism and on adaptive functioning. Autism in Down syndrome is offered as an example of the complexities of the dual diagnosis. Finally, some principles for intervention for individuals with autism and ID are presented for this challenging population. Despite efforts to understand autism and ID, further research is necessary to identify the long-term needs of people with autism and ID and to understand the underlying mechanisms in order to provide optimal services. Chapter on page 153
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