Digital tools for people with a mild intellectual disability

What it is

People with an lvb (in Dutch: licht verstandelijke beperking; a mild intellectual disability) have a lot of difficulty with learning and with dealing with everyday situations, more than most people of their age and culture.

Whether someone has an lvb depends on two things. The first is intelligence: someone with an lvb has an IQ between 50 and 70, while people of average intelligence have an IQ between 85 and 115. The second is adaptive skills: how someone manages in daily life. This is about reading, writing and arithmetic, about dealing with other people, and about practical things such as looking after yourself and taking the bus.

People with an IQ between 70 and 85 have borderline intellectual functioning and do not, strictly speaking, have an lvb. Even so, in the Netherlands they can get the same care if they also have (serious) psychological or social problems.

In the Netherlands, this is estimated to be about 1.1 million people. This number includes the people with borderline intellectual functioning who manage less well. The exact number is not known, because IQ and how well people manage are not registered.

Why it matters

More and more things are arranged online: applying for a DigiD (the Dutch government login), applying for housing benefit, video calling. What is known about how people with an lvb deal with this comes from a small study from 2022: a questionnaire was filled in 37 times, and there were interviews with nine people and with two groups of five. People with almost no digital skills are not included, because the questionnaire was online.

The internet gives participants more control over their own lives, they say themselves, because they look up information, keep in touch with others and do fun things online. But it is also difficult: too much information, losing track, texts that are hard to understand, and fear of criminals on the internet. For things like paying bills or making an appointment, participants first needed help from their partner, family or support worker, and after that they could usually do it themselves. Others leave such things entirely to someone close to them.

Many people with an lvb hide what they do not know or cannot do, and present themselves as someone who can do everything on their own. As a result, it is less obvious that they need help. So keep an eye on this yourself.

What makes a tool usable

The participants in the study gave tips themselves, and the researchers added to them. Check a tool against this list:

• Clear. Language at language level B1, plenty of pictures and not too much text on one screen. Difficult words come with an explanation.
• Easy to see. Large letters, enough contrast and calm colours.
• Few steps. No need to install something first or request login codes. The fewer steps in between, the better.
• Shows how it works. A short video that explains it helps.
• An alternative without a screen. There is a person you can call or visit if it does not work online.
• Repetition. People with an lvb remember something better if they see or do it more often.

Also look at the tone of the pictures. With the learning module ‘Weet wat je kan’ (‘Know what you can do’), some participants found the drawings a bit childish at first. A tool for adults should also look grown-up.

Daily structure and helplines

• Structure in the day. Among people with a disability, people with an lvb or with brain injury benefit most from tools for daily structure, because they find it hard to plan their day and keep it manageable. Such a tool gives, for example, reminders on a screen, with text and symbols, but then your client does need to be able to read. If that does not work, make a schedule with pictures on paper, for example with My day.
• Help with digital matters. People with an lvb rarely use helplines such as the Vraag-app and the website Steffie.nl, often because they do not know about them. So point your client to them, and look at them together.

How to introduce a tool

1. Start with the person. Build on someone’s habits, interests and what they are good at.
2. Do it together, in small steps, and repeat. Make a step-by-step plan with concrete tips and examples, and practise in different ways. Keep in mind that someone with an lvb needs more time to learn something, and can concentrate for a shorter time.
3. Check whether it has come across. Ask your client to tell you in their own words how it works. This is called the teach-back method.
4. Involve the network, with permission. Family or a support worker often already helps with digital things. Ask your client whether you may involve them, so that they help in the same way.
5. Keep a route without a screen open, such as a paper schedule or a fixed phone number. You can read why that is needed under digital inclusion.

Points to watch

• Ask concrete questions. “Can you manage that?” often gets a “yes”. “Show me how you put an appointment in your phone” tells you more.
• Talk about scams. People with an lvb are at greater risk of becoming victims of scams and other crime on the internet. Explain how to recognise a fake message, and who they can check with whether something is genuine.
• Do not take over. A tool can make someone more independent, but also more dependent, if someone always has to help. Also read Self-direction and digital tools.
• Let people help shape it. Are you making a tool or a text yourself? Ask people with an lvb to test whether the language is easy and whether the pictures help.

Find out more

• What is digital inclusion?
• Recognising and discussing low literacy
• Choosing a digital tool for your client
• Psychoeducation with drawing, cards and games