Type 2 Diabetes education for adults with intellectual disabillities.

Aim: Our goal was to adapt a self-management type 2 diabetes educationprogramme developed for the non-disabled population (DESMOND) for usewith adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) and their carers. Method: Twoiterations of the DESMOND programme were delivered to thirteen adults withID and eight carers. This programme was delivered over 6 weeks. Videorecordings, focus groups and evaluation sheets were used to examine thesuitability of the curriculum and resources. Results: The feedback from the firstiteration of the programme illustrated that DESMOND needed to be adapted toaccommodate the adults’ literacy skills. The service users also required thesupport of their carers to develop the skills to self-manage their diabetes athome focusing on diet, exercise and medication. The second iteration of theprogramme supported the adaptations made to the DESMOND-ID programme.Carers need a separate day to prepare to engage effectively to help supportthe adults to learn the objectives of the DESMOND-ID programme.Conclusion: Adults with ID can be educated to develop the skills to self-manage their type 2 diabetes. It is important to have the support of carers. Suchself-management programmes developed for the non-disabled population needadapting and testing for adults with ID