Background. The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have a substantial impact on people with an intellectual disability. The goal of the current study was to explore the experiences and needs of people with a mild intellectual disability during the COVID-19 lockdown period in the Netherlands. Method. A descriptive qualitative methodology was conducted, using semi-structured individual interviews with six people with a mild intellectual disability. Data were analysed thematically. Results. Three overarching themes were found: (i) Missing social contact and having people close; (ii) Being housebound has changed my daily life; and (iii) Hard to understand the preventive measures. Conclusions. Important insights into the experiences and needs of people with a mild intellectual disability during the COVID-19 lockdown period were gained. These insights are valuable with respect to a potential second COVID-19 wave or a future infection-outbreak.

Introduction: People with intellectual disabilities and co-occurring psychopathology have a relatively high likelihood to engage in aggressive behavior. Nevertheless, structured clinical assessment of aggressive behavior, including when and where it occurs, is scarce in this population. Methods: On three wards specializing in the care for people with mild to borderline intellectual disability and co-occurring psychopathology, staff members completed the Staff Observation Aggression Scale-Revised adapted for people with intellectual disabilities (SOAS-RID) during a nine-month period, every time they witnessed aggressive behavior. Results: Based on 236 SOAS-RID forms, it was found that aggressive incidents were most common on Thursdays, and on two specific moments of the day (between 9-11 a.m. and 7-9 p.m.). The aggressive behavior was often exclusively of a verbal nature and was usually targeted against staff members (77.1% of the incidents). The Interclass (Pearson) Correlation Coefficient agreement between observers on the total score of the SOAS-RID was 0.72. Correlation between the judgment of the severity of aggressive behavior made by the staff members and the SOAS-RID severity scores was moderate (r = .40), but significant. Conclusions: Because aggressive behavior appeared to result often from interactions between the client and staff member or other clients, these interactions might be an important starting point for interventions. Structured clinical assessment of aggressive behavior can help to devise and test the effects of interventions. The SOAS-RID seems to be a clinically useful instrument and could therefore help to reduce the frequency of these incidents in the future.

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is one of the most detrimental behaviors for the person showing it, as well as for their environment. Nevertheless, structured clinical assessments of SIB are scarce. Staff completed a Self-Harm Scale (SHS) every time they witnessed SIB in clients with an intellectual disability (ID) and co-occurring psychopathology (N = 33). Descriptive statistics were conducted to explore the nature of the incidents of SIB and the characteristics of the people involved in the incidents. In 41 weeks, 104 SIB incidents were reported for 8 out of 33 clients (24%). Incidents were most prevalent on Mondays (23%). As far as the methods of SIB concerned, cutting was the most used method (63%). Clients who showed SIB differed significantly from clients who did not on gender, having a personality disorder and communicative abilities. This study was one of the few that used an incident-based record form to report SIB by direct observation. It is hoped that the SHS helps to gain more information about SIB, to improve individualized interventions. Further research is necessary to determine the psychometric properties and clinical utility of the scale.

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People with intellectual disabilities (ID) are at greater risk of being a victim of sexual abuse and may also be more predisposed to perpetrating sexual abuse. Although the prevalence of sexual abuse among people with ID is difficult to determine, it is clear that there are serious consequences for both victims and perpetrators, and professional support is needed. Psychologists play an important role in the assessment of sexual abuse in both victims and perpetrators and require specific knowledge and skills to execute the assessments. We therefore developed a training course for psychologists aimed at increasing their (applied) knowledge of sexual abuse and the related assessment process in people with ID. In a five-day training course, sessions focusing on theories about diagnostic models were combined with sessions focusing on the assessment of sexual abuse of victims and perpetrators. The effectiveness of the training course was determined in terms of (applied) knowledge via the administration of a study-specific questionnaire including a hypothetical case vignette before, immediately after, and six months after completion of the course. The results show that the knowledge of the psychologists related to sexual abuse and the assessment process for sexual abuse increased significantly, and remained above pre-test level at six-month follow-up. These results are promising, but more research is needed to see if the increased (applied) knowledge in turn leads to application in practice and better care for both victims and perpetrators.