There appears to be a higher rate of prevalence of hyperkinetic disorder in the intellectual disability (ID) population, although there is a large variability in rates in previous studies. Hyperkinetic disorder can be a challenge to diagnose in a population with ID and can present a barrier to the development of the activities of daily living in an already vulnerable population.

Our objective was to examine the point prevalence of hyperkinetic disorder in the ID population in a community ID service and also to determine the prevalence of hyperkinetic disorder based on the level of ID.

A cross-sectional review of the Online Information Service ‘OLIS’ database was undertaken to establish the total number of patients with ID and those with comorbid hyperkinetic disorder. The overall point prevalence and prevalence based on the level of ID was calculated from the collected data.

The point prevalence of hyperkinetic disorder in the population with ID was similar to that found in studies in the general population at 3.1% in adults and 32.6% in children. When divided by the level of disability, the calculated point prevalence in both adults and children was highest in the population with mild ID and decreased as the level of disability increased.

This report contributes to previous research establishing the rates of hyperkinetic disorder in an ID population and establishes the point prevalence of hyperkinetic disorder in individuals diagnosed with ID in a clinical sample.