Helping adults with intellectual disabilities

摘要

Blustein and colleagues discuss hearing loss and auditory challenges in healthcare (Analysis, 20 January). The prevalence of hearing loss in adults with intellectual disabilities is much higherthan in the general population, and occurs at a much earlier age. People with intellectual disabilities can experience discomfort and are at increased risk of challenging behaviourwhen their environment is not tailored to their individual characteristics. These behaviours can include self injury and being withdrawn. A challenging auditory environment can also mean that they do not pickup on important information and gain experience. This can hampertheirdevelopment.