Understanding distress in people with severe communication difficulties: developing and assessing the Disability Distress Assessment Tool (DisDAT)

Abstract

There was no evidence that pain has any specific signs or behaviours. The preliminary and assessment phases showed that distress was a useful clinical construct in providing care. The DisDAT reflected patients' distress communication identified by a range of carers, and provided carers with evidence for their intuitive observations of distress.

Applying the Verona coding definitions of emotional sequences (VR-CoDES) in the dental context involving patients with complex communication needs: An exploratory study

“…Similarly, other potentially suitable schemes (e.g. The Disability Distress Assessment Tool :DisDAT [6], and some vocal affect expression assessment tools [7]) all neglected the important interactions between expression and impression (response), an important issue highlighted in both the intellectual disability literature [8] and the emotion research literature [9]. Despite a small sample size (n=13), Wright et al [2] found that the VR-CoDES could reliably code (with satisfactory inter-and intra-coder scores) dental patients' expressions of emotional distress, as well as dental professionals' responses to patients' cues and concerns.…”

“…It was also possible that researchers and dental workers unfamiliar with that individual are disadvantaged in identifying and responding to emotional cues compared to carers who have greater knowledge and familiarity with those individuals as indicated in Regnard et al's study [6]. Unlike the DisDAT [6], no baseline behaviour in a non-clinical setting was obtained in the VR-CoDES to help detect behavioural changes as indicators for emotional distress. This lack of an additional video recording of the patient in the company of another adult (e.g.…”

Health promotion and screening for people with an intellectual disability

“…for those with Down's syndrome or Fragile X syndrome (Hoghton, 2010). If the person is unable to communicate pain, an assessment tool, such as the Disability Distress Assessment Tool (DisDAT), should be used (Regnard et al, 2006). …”

Meeting the End of Life Needs of Older Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

“…Assessing pain in patients with Alzheimer's dementia appears to be even more complex again (Regnard et al, 2006). Specialist palliative care services must also recognize that the assessment instruments used for the general population for both pain and nutrition needs are rarely helpful for people with intellectual disability (McCallion & McCarron, 2004;.…”