Diagnosing Pain in Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Current State and Novel Technological Solutions

Pain assessment poses a challenge in several groups of clients, yet specific barriers arise when it comes to pain assessment of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), due mostly to communication challenges preventing valid and reliable self-reports. Despite increased interest in pain assessment of those diagnosed with IDD within recent years, little is known about pain behavior in this group. The present article overviews the current state of pain diagnosis for individuals with IDD, focusing on existing pain assessment scales. In addition, it suggests technological developments offering new ways to diagnose existence of pain in this population, such as a Smartphone App for caregivers based on unique acoustic characteristics of pain-related vocal responses, or the use of smart wearable shirts that enable continuous surveillance of vital physiological signs. Such novel technological solutions may improve diagnosis of pain in the IDD population, as well as in other individuals with complex communication needs, to provide better pain treatment and enhance overall quality of life.

Automated summary

Pain assessment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is challenging due to communication barriers. This article provides an overview of the current state of pain diagnosis in IDD individuals, focusing on existing pain assessment scales. It also discusses technological developments such as a Smartphone App based on pain-related vocal responses and smart wearable shirts for continuous surveillance of vital signs, which can improve pain diagnosis and enhance overall quality of life for IDD and other individuals with complex communication needs.