Digitally visiting people with intellectual disabilities: The new normal?

Participating in society is a major challenge for people with an intellectual disability. They experience loneliness more than average. It is therefore important to consider what the COVID-19 measures have meant for this group and their loved ones. Particularly due to restrictions on physical visits, they temporarily had to rely on digital forms of contact with loved ones and for many this was new. In this project we hope to learn to what extent digital contact has proven to be a feasible and attractive option for residents of healthcare institutions. The measures may have had the side effect that more people were able to participate digitally, thanks to testing by residents, loved ones and supervisors. We also ask whether resources and support have improved through digital contact. We use repeated questionnaires and reports from supervisors over the period 2016-2023. We use the results to make recommendations for all stakeholders and policy.