Convergent validity evidence for the Pain and Discomfort Scale (PADS) for pain assessment among adults with intellectual disability.

Objectives: The main aim of the study was to generate initial convergent validity evidence for the Pain and Discomfort Scale (PADS) for use with nonverbal adults with intellectual disabilities.

Materials And Methods: Forty-four adults with intellectual disability (mean age=46, 52% male) were evaluated using a standardized sham-controlled and blinded sensory testing protocol, from which Facial Action Coding System (FACS) and PADS scores were tested for (1) sensitivity to an array of calibrated sensory stimuli; (2) specificity (active vs. sham trials); and (3) concordance.

Evaluating a sham-controlled sensory-testing protocol for nonverbal adults with neurodevelopmental disorders: self-injury and gender effects.

Unlabelled: Ambiguous or blunted responses to sensory and painful stimuli among individuals with severe intellectual disabilities and comorbid communicative impairments put them at risk for having their experience of pain discounted and their expression of pain misinterpreted. Valid measurement procedures of behavioral expression are critical for this vulnerable group of individuals. We investigated a sham-controlled sensory-testing protocol as an approach to guard against observer bias during nonverbal behavioral recording for individuals with intellectual disabilities.