People experiencing altered brain functioning—whether developmental (I/DD, autism) or acquired (brain injury) face a higher prevalence of co-occurring behavioral and physical health issues. Research indicates these individuals respond well to standard evidence-based interventions when cognitive adaptations are applied. This collection highlights specific interventions and the modifications necessary to make them accessible. We encourage clinicians and community members to share these tools to help close the gap in care.
What is in the Adaptive Strategies Resource Library?
- Therapy Modification Briefs (below)
- Adaptive Strategies: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Therapy Modification Briefs
Start here for general resources providing clinicians with practice guidelines to modify interventions for people with cognitive limitations. Targeted to mental health practitioners, we hope that these briefs will be shared far and wide to effectively improve outcomes particularly for those people with IDD and co-occurring mental health conditions.
These guidelines are a collection of research on therapies and practices that are successful for adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD) who have a co-occurring mental health condition.
This brief is produced by ACL’s Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Technical Assistance and Resource Center (TARC) and provides clinicians with information and an array of accessible approaches for modifying psychopharmacologic interventions for TBI. This brief is also geared towards assisting brain injury personnel partners better with their behavioral health providers on best practices for TBI related interventions. Content for this brief was drawn from “Section I. Psychopharmacologic Interventions for TBI,” of the Administration for Community Living “2022 Behavioral Health Guide: Considerations for Best Practices for Children, Youth, and Adults with TBI,” available at: https://acl.gov/sites/default/files/programs/2022-05/TBITARC_BH_Guide_Final_May2022_Accessible.pdf. The section was written by Michael Chiou, MD, and Lindsey Gurin, MD, NYU Langone Health.
This brief of the ACL’s Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Technical Assistance and Resource Center’s (TARC) highlights considerations and best practices for the diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders in people with TBI. The brief also includes challenges related to brain injury and provides recommendations and strategies for clinical intervention. Content for the brief was drawn from “Section V. Modifying Clinical Interventions for TBI,” of the Administration for Community Living Behavioral Health Guide: Considerations for Best Practices for Children, Youth, and Adults with TBI, released in 2022. The section was written by Theo Tsaousides, PhD, ABPP, clinical assistant professor, and Maria Kajankova, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Other Therapy Modification Briefs
- Adaptations to Assertive Community Treatment for IDD
- Adaptations to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for IDD
- Adaptations to Dialectical Behavior Therapy for IDD
- Adaptations to Positive Parenting Program for IDD
- Adaptations to Trauma Focused CBT for IDD
- Adaptions to EMDR for IDD
- Adaptions to Multisystemic Therapy for IDD