October 7, 2025
By Yona Lunsky
This Friday is World Mental Health Day, and this year’s theme focuses on mental health in humanitarian emergencies. I have been thinking about what that means to me and to people with developmental disabilities around the world.
Right now, I am not in a situation where I need to find mental health services or supports for myself or my family. I live in a country that is not at war, and I’m fortunate to have the time and resources to do the things that help me be well. These extra few weeks of warm, sunny weather have allowed me to spend more time walking outdoors and enjoying nature, activities that, in the right balance, support my mental health.
But what happens when people can’t access these things due to conflict, natural disasters or public health emergencies? What happens when we can’t take care of our mental health because of circumstances beyond our control? While those situations are very different from what we face here in Ontario, they remind me how easily mental health can be affected when the supports we need are not in place, something we see in our own communities.
Last Monday, we published a study in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, led by Dr. Avra Selick, examining long-stay inpatients in Ontario mental health beds who have developmental disabilities. In the fall of 2023, more than one in five (22%) of those inpatients who had been in hospital for a year or more had a developmental disability, even though people with developmental disabilities make up only 1-2% of the population.
These findings highlight the need for a complete mental health system, one that includes proper inpatient care when people need it, but also services and supports before hospitalization and after discharge. Perhaps some of the people in our study needed to be in hospital for that long, but I know from my other work that many individuals are hospitalized because we could not meet their mental health needs sooner. And they remain in hospital because we don’t have enough supports to help them transition back into the community.
I also did a lot of teaching last week, and I have to say, here is where I feel some hope. On Monday, people from across the country involved in our Brain Health-IDD program met to share different strategies that we use to support our brain health as we age, especially when faced with barriers or challenges. We cheered one another on, while acknowledging the difficulties. (It’s not too late to sign up for our self-advocate and family courses on brain health! Learn more here).
In a class I taught on Wednesday, we reflected on the painful history of people with developmental disabilities who were institutionalized as children, shaping their mental health trajectory for life. We also talked about the barriers to proper and timely mental health care for Indigenous people with developmental disabilities living in remote areas. But we ended the class thinking about small actions each of us can take to disable some of the ableism around us.
Then, on Friday, the Grand Rounds at our hospital focused on the experiences of autistic doctors who, along with other healthcare providers with disabilities, can find themselves working in cultures that are not always inclusive and may not feel safe disclosing their disabilities or seeking accommodations. Dr. Zachary Williams offered practical, concrete suggestions for creating more neuroaffirming workplaces, and explained what a huge difference it can make.
Reflecting on the week, I am reminded that talking about these things builds awareness, even when immediate solutions aren’t clear. Today’s students and providers are interested in doing things differently and better than we have in the past, and they do not shy away from what feels difficult and uncomfortable.
We should not have so many adults with developmental disabilities spending long periods in hospital, and we should not have people with disabilities and their families living in fear, uncertainty, or terrible circumstances that harm their mental health. I also know that there are many caring people out there who know this is wrong and want to work together to change it.
This World Mental Health Day, let’s think about how we can make mental health care more accessible for everyone. I hope that our efforts, on this day and the rest of the year, can lead to meaningful change.