Your Experiences of Living with a Learning Disability and Diabetes Report
A total of 20 surveys and 4 focus groups were completed, whereby a total of 71 people attended and participated (59 people with LD (and either diabetes or pre-diabetes), and 12 support workers).
Our findings highlight key challenges which are negatively impacting the ability of people with LD to prevent, self-manage, and access appropriate support, including:
- Access to Structured Diabetes Education Courses
- Communication with healthcare professionals
- Accessible information and advice
- Experience at diagnosis
- Access to specialist support
We have summarised these findings into three recommendations:
Access to Structured Education Courses
- At the point of diagnosis or within 6-12 months, all people with LD should be referred to the relevant structured education diabetes course and provided with additional support to increase accessibility. Including a review of the content to ensure the courses are accessible for people with LD, and the offer of bespoke arrangements for where the course is held
- In addition to this, we would recommend an additional education option aimed at supporting workers/families to support their understanding of diabetes and their specific role in supporting the person with LD that they care for
Experience at Diagnosis
2. Before the initial GP appointment, people with LD should be provided with reasonable adjustment options, including:
- Phased and/or extended appointments
- Invitation for a support worker/carer to be present
- Facilitation through an LD professional
Accessible Information and Advice
3. Patients with LD should be provided with easy-read information, with simple explanations, visual information (e.g., diagrams of meal ideas) at each healthcare appointment, to support self-management.
