Reasonable Accommodations for Meeting the Unique Needs of Defendants with Intellectual Disability

The Americans with Disabilities Act has allowed for greater participation of individuals with disabilities across a variety of contexts, most notably in employment settings. Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) are still precluded, however, from full participation in other contexts, and they are often relegated to the forensic arena without sufficient support, including after being adjudicated incompetent to stand trial (IST). Frequently, individuals who are adjudicated IST due to ID are committed to inpatient psychiatric hospitals that are unable to meet their unique needs. We argue that the provision requiring reasonable accommodations to secure meaningful participation in state-funded restoration efforts, explicitly covered by Title II of ADA, is both relevant and imperative for this group. Further, we argue that simple modifications to the forensic assessment process, as well as the trial itself, can provide the scaffolding to facilitate individuals' full and complete participation in the process, reducing the likelihood of an inappropriate determination as IST. In our opinion, failing to appropriately modify the forensic assessment, treatment, and trial process systematically excludes and uniquely disadvantages this population because individuals with ID are often able to meet the essential functions of participation except for interference from deficits commensurate with ID.