The Ten-Point Treatment Programme: developing and evaluating an easy-read version for people with intellectual disabilities

Purpose People with intellectual disabilities (IDs) typically present with co-occurring communication difficulties. Research indicates that cognitive-linguistic impairment is predictive of poor health literacy, which can preclude individuals from developing a comprehensive understanding of their health, care and treatment needs. People accessing forensic intellectual and developmental disability (FIDD) services are more likely to engage meaningfully in treatment and rehabilitation only if they feel empowered to play active roles in their own care. Delivering proposed treatment programmes in an accessible format, which meets their language needs, is likely to promote this. Design/methodology/approach This paper aims to describe the development and evaluation of an easy read version of the “Ten point treatment programme” within an inpatient FIDD service. An expert panel comprising speech and language therapists and education professionals utilised a quality improvement method to develop this. Patients and staff evaluated this resource and gave feedback through surveys or meetings. The resource was refined based on responses, and a final version produced. Findings The easy-read Ten-Point Treatment programme resource was considered valuable by patients and staff from this service. Research limitations/implications Future research should seek to pilot this resource, to explore alternative multi-modal means of accessible information provision coproduced at every level and to examine ways in which this resource could be incorporated within health-care consultations. Another research direction will be to assess the impact of this resource on comprehension, drawing upon objective, previously validated measures. Practical implications Provision of an easy-read version of the Ten-Point Treatment Programme may support individuals with communication difficulties to understand health and care information relevant to their inpatient admission and may empower them to take more active roles in their treatment pathway. It is important to acknowledge, however, that easy read is not an accessible means of information provision for all individuals with ID and that the empirical evidence for its impact is limited. Originality/value This is the first published attempt to evaluate the acceptability of an easy-read version of the Ten-Point Treatment Programme within an inpatient FIDD service in the UK.