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Persons with intellectual disabilities are more exposed to violence than other citizens. When they seek help or report to the police, their disability may, however, pass unidentified, which means that their needs cannot be met. Methods for identifying these persons are therefore required. This study aimed to understand whether the Intellectual Disability Screening Questionnaire (IDSQ), developed in the UK, is useful in Sweden. Workshops were conducted with professionals representing the Police authority, health care units, social service units, persons with intellectual disabilities, and relatives. The results showed that participants perceived the identification of intellectual disabilities among victims of violence and crime as important, and they found IDSQ useful. The participants appreciated that IDSQ can be used in flexible ways, and that contextual factors can be acknowledged, which enhance the possibilities to support victims of crime throughout legal processes, and provide care. They sensed that structured methods, such as IDSQ, must be accompanied by a person-centered perspective, and clients must be approached with ethical awareness. However, the participants found the manual complicated and stressed the importance of adapting IDSQ to professionals’ routines. More work is needed if IDSQ is to be implemented in Sweden.
Punzi et al. (Tue,) studied this question.