Evaluating an evidence-based online screening tool to identify learning disability
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Evaluating an evidence-based online screening tool to identify learning disability

Karen McKenzie Professor of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England
Aja Murray Lecturer in Psychology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland
Judith Thompson Network Chair, North East and Cumbria Learning Disability Network, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England
Karen Horridge Consultant Paediatrician (disability), South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, South Shields, England
Kristofor McCarty Senior Lecturer, Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To learn how people with a learning disability continue to experience significant health inequalities

  • To understand how many people’s learning disability goes unrecognised

  • To familiarise yourself with the Child and Adolescent Intellectual Disability Questionnaire

Background Many people with a learning disability are unable to benefit from health improvement measures because their learning disability is unrecognised. Screening tools such as the Child and Adolescent Intellectual Disability Screening Questionnaire (CAIDS-Q) can assist with the identification of learning disability.

Aim To explore whether the use of a new online version of the CAIDS-Q to identify whether or not an individual was likely to have a learning disability was consistent with reported learning disability as identified previously by a healthcare or education professional.

Methods Anonymous data from people who used the online CAIDS-Q in the first weeks of the launch were collated and analysed.

Results Of the 159 people who used the online CAIDS-Q, 126 (79%) were family members and/or carers of the person being screened and 31 (19%) were professionals (predominantly healthcare and education professionals). Of the 52 people who had been identified previously as having a learning disability, 47 (90%) were correctly identified as such by the CAIDS-Q score.

Conclusion The CAIDS-Q online screening tool for learning disability can be used by professionals and parents. It correctly identified 90% of people who had previously been identified as having a learning disability. The accuracy of the online version of the CAIDS-Q is similar to hard copy versions, which suggests that it may be an accurate tool that can assist with the identification of people with a learning disability.

Learning Disability Practice. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2020.e2106

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

k.mckenzie@northumbria.ac.uk

Conflict of interest

Karen McKenzie is a co-developer of the Child and Adolescent Intellectual Disability Screening Questionnaire (CAIDS-Q) and receives a small payment for its use

McKenzie K, Murray A, Thompson J et al (2020) Evaluating an evidence-based online screening tool to identify learning disability. Learning Disability Practice. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2020.e2106

Published online: 19 November 2020

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