Practice Guidance: Access to Audiology Services for Adults With Intellectual Disabilities
British Society of Audiology. (2021).
Bathgate (United Kingdom): British Society of Audiology, 1-22.
This guideline provides recommendations on the access of audiology services for adults with intellectual disabilities.
British Society of Audiology (United Kingdom)
Formation of a multidisciplinary team (MDT) is suggested to increase the reliability of hearing assessment of adults with intellectual disabilities within community settings. An MDT may include the following:
<ul>
<li>audiologists;</li>
<li>surgeons;</li>
<li>primary care;</li>
<li>community teams;</li>
<li>speech and language pathologists;</li>
<li>support workers;</li>
<li>social workers;</li>
<li>caregivers; and</li>
<li>health facilitation teams.</li>
</ul>
The following recommendations were provided for the referral routes to audiology services:
<ul>
<li>It is inappropriate for patients with intellectual disabilities to be referred for audiology services via Any Qualified Provider (AQP) and that any provider of AQP services should refer back via the appropriate pathway.</li>
<li>It is recommended that individuals with intellectual disabilities experiencing hearing concerns only should be referred directly to audiology. Referring hearing concerns only to an Ear, Nose, Throat department could lengthen the overall pathway for the individual and create unnecessary delays to treatment.</li>
<li>It is recommended that audiology services offer supports for adults with intellectual disabilities to access mainstream/routine pathways (e.g., small reasonable adjustments to assessment).</li>
</ul>
Point of care testing for hearing issues in adults with intellectual disabilities, such as using oto-acoustic emmisions and hand-held tympanometers during the annual health check, can provide evidence of hearing concerns and facilitate further referral to audiology.
Recommendations on improving the experiences of adults with intellectual disabilities during audiology services are as follows:
<ul>
<li>It is essential to adequately prepare before the initial appointment. This can include identifying additional needs on patient management systems, sharing relevant information (e.g., communication supports) with other professionals, pre-assessment questionnaires, and triaging tools.</li>
<li>During appointments, flexibility and individualized care should be paramount. Reasonable adjustments may include using clear and simple language in appointment letters and offering longer appointment times. For further description of appointment considerations, please see pages 14 to 15 of the full-text document.</li>
</ul>
