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Better health care for people with intellectual disability

People with intellectual disability experience higher mortality rates, lack of health prevention, discrimination and inappropriate psychotropic prescribing.

The Commission has developed three new resources offering strategies to address safety and quality risks in health care for people with intellectual disability. These are based on Four Steps to Inclusive Health Care and include: 

  • Intellectual Disability Actions for Clinicians - fact sheet
  • With Me: Intellectual Disability Actions for Clinicians - infographic poster
  • About Me: Questions to Ask About Reasonable Adjustments - Easy Read fact sheet

The first two resources for clinicians outline how to make reasonable adjustments to help people with intellectual disability to access safe and quality health care.

The third resource is an Easy Read fact sheet to help patients and their supporters to talk with clinicians about their disability and what they need to access health care. This links to the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights. 

We encourage you to use and share the new resources with colleagues.

Download resources

The Commission consulted widely with healthcare services, disability advocates and consumer groups in developing these resources.

More information

Visit the Intellectual Disability web page or email cognitiveimpairment@safetyandquality.gov.au

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