What is our position on this and how can we effect change? Our experience of writing a position statement regarding attachment trauma in people with intellectual disabilities

Abstract

We heard about the abuse and bad treatment of people with intellectual disabilities which had happened at an inpatient unit called Whorlton Hall in 2019.We were upset and angry that abuse keeps happening even though people have been trying to make sure support is better and safer.We wanted to write something to tell people that we thought the abuse was terrible and should not be happening.We hoped that we could write something that would tell people how important it is to:–help people to get better at spotting signs of emotional and physical abuse–report any abuse or poor support and make a plan to follow up to make sure this stops–share ideas of how we can better work together to stop abuse from happeningWe set up a small group of clinical psychologists to write a ‘position statement’ which would include all these things.We shared what we had written with a bigger group of psychologists and health professionals in our Attachment and Intellectual Disabilities Special Interest Group and they said what they thought was good and how to make it better.