Development and Introduction of “Communication Passport” in an Adult Inpatient Psychiatric Unit for Persons With Intellectual Disabilities: A Brief Report from Singapore: Communication Passport in People with Intellectual Disabilities

Persons with intellectual disabilities may present with multiple and complex needs including communication difficulties which may contribute to their challenging behaviors. Having a holistic account of each individual in terms of his or her needs, likes, and dislikes and behavioral issues may help to prevent communication breakdown between the persons with intellectual disabilities and caregivers which may in turn improve their quality of life and reduce their challenging behaviors. Communication passport is a practical and person-centered document providing a special and efficient way of sorting and presenting important and complex information about the person into an accessible manner. We describe the development and introduction of communication passports in an acute inpatient unit for adults with intellectual disabilities at the Institute of Mental Health, a tertiary psychiatric hospital in Singapore. The study team developed a communication passport through literature review, focus group discussions and liaison with caregivers and patients with intellectual disabilities. After an initial pilot for 6 months, improvements were made in the content and presentation. It was designed in such a way that useful information about the patient's personal and communication needs as well as behavioral problems and interventions were easily passed on to the community caregivers at the point of patient's discharge from the hospital. The final format of the communication passport consisted of a 12-page document encompassing multiple aspects including communication and behavioral profile. Our work may provide the necessary framework and directions in developing communication passports for services providers caring for people with intellectual disabilities.