18 Chapter 1 their emotions and inhibiting impulses (Bexkens et al., 2014; Littlewood et al., 2018) – potentially leading to impulsive actions that are seen as externalizing problems, such as aggression towards peers or authority figures. Alternatively, emotion dysregulation can lead to internalizing problems like depressive feelings, self-injurious behavior, or suicidality. Social interactions can pose another challenge. For some, it may for example be difficult to express themselves effectively, which can lead to misunderstandings, frustration, and aggressive outbursts. Consequently, it can be hard to establish and/or maintain meaningful relationships. Some people with a mild intellectual disability fail to navigate subtle social cues, making them extra susceptible to peer influence (Larkin et al., 2013; Wagemaker et al., 2022). This contributes to an increased risk for minor or severe criminal offenses (Segeren et al., 2018). For some it is even hard to recognize general social norms, possibly leading to sexually transgressive behaviors. People with a mild intellectual disability are thus a highly heterogeneous group in terms of the problems they show. It frequently happens that a mild intellectual disability remains undiagnosed or undetected, and consequently, care is not adapted to the diagnosis (Nieuwenhuis et al., 2022; Wieland et al., 2020). Behavioral problems that may be inherent to an unrecognized mild intellectual disability are often met with little empathy from the environment. Constant comparisons to peers without intellectual disabilities – for example at home or at school – may lead to a negative self-perception, fostering a cycle of low self-esteem and potentially further challenging behaviors. This lack of understanding from others may cause feelings of inadequacy in these youngsters, negatively affecting their selfimage. For some, this leads to feelings of isolation or actual socially withdrawn behavior. Parental and societal attitudes potentially can exacerbate these issues. A considerable amount of young people with a mild intellectual disability find solace in using alcohol or drugs (VanDerNagel et al., 2014) – a behavior (a coping mechanism for some) that their environment may neither understand nor condone. Taken together, the nature of the challenges that someone with a mild intellectual disability faces, can be extremely wide-ranging. This range of challenges can also be recognized in the vignettes of John, Naomi, and Kyla. These case descriptions illustrate that although a mild intellectual disability can be a common factor, people with this diagnosis vary immensely in terms of backgrounds, their (dis)abilities, personalities, and behavioral problems. They differ in where they come from: their care-, educational- and familial histories (Segeren et al., 2018; Soenen et al., 2012; Nouwens et al., 2017). Some youngsters, like Kyla, have hopped from foster family to foster family, while others, like John and Naomi, received only residential care. Whereas some youngsters, like John, managed to obtain a
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