How trauma informed is our service? Piloting the Roots tool in learning disability services: a feasibility study

Purpose It is known that people with learning disabilities are more likely to experience trauma, compared to the mainstream population. Services that are “trauma informed” are more able to recognise the lasting impact of adversity and to resist the possibility of being re-traumatising. Within mainstream adult mental health services, the Roots tool framework has been developed as a way of monitoring progress towards this goal. The purpose of this paper is to describe a project that was carried out to assess how relevant and feasible it was to use the Roots tool within a learning disability service. Design/methodology/approach A descriptive design was used. The participants were multi-disciplinary professionals who volunteered to take part in the service evaluation. Three domains of the Roots tool were completed (language, social and whole system approach). The findings of this study were presented to a service user group to gain their feedback and facilitators also shared their experiences of using the tool. Findings The findings were that the Roots tool was relevant to the learning disability service. The three domains yielded several areas where practical changes could be made. However, using the tool was time consuming, and the service user version was too complex for individuals with learning disabilities. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first known application of the Roots tool framework to learning disability services. It is important to measure how trauma informed services are so that progress can occur. There may be a case for developing bespoke tools, specifically for learning disability services, with particular focus on how to include service users directly.