Background: As a final year Psychiatry trainee, and as I draw closer to the commencement of specialist work, I am naturally apprehensive about this transition and my preparedness. One of the areas where I feel lacking is intellectual disabilities and their interplay with psychiatric ailments.

Objectives: To highlight the connected nature of intellectual disability and psychiatric ailments via a case series.

Methods: Case series of five patients out of many that I have treated in the last 5 years who present with a psychiatric ailment on a background of intellectual impairment.

Findings: The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists’ curriculum has only one entrustable professional activity (EPA) in the third stage (not compulsory) involving attaining skills specific to dual disability: ‘Assessment and management of adults with a comorbid intellectual/developmental disability and mental illness’.

During my training, I have assessed at least 2–3% of my patient load as having comorbid intellectual impairment. During the time in CL and in rural settings, it becomes more pertinent.

Conclusions: There perhaps needs to be more focus on training of skills about intellectual impairment assessment and its links with psychiatric ailment so that future psychiatrists can be well versed with the treatment of dual disability.