Learning disabilities

This guideline covers interventions and support for children, young people and adults with a learning disability and behaviour that challenges. It highlights the importance of understanding the cause of behaviour that challenges, and performing thorough assessments so that steps can be taken to help people change their behaviour and improve their quality of life. The guideline also covers support and intervention for family members or carers.

Purpose: Little is known about the characteristics of residential educational settings for young people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) in England. Previous research has focussed on the characteristics and experiences of the young people attending such settings rather than the setting itself; therefore, an overview of national provision is needed. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Background: People with intellectual and developmental disabilities often need support to develop and maintain intimate relationships; however, little is known regarding the role of family carers in this area. Methods: Focus groups were conducted with 19 family members to explore the support they provide to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to find a potential partner and any support they may have to provide to support/develop an existing relationship.

Being a family carer can be rewarding but can also lead to mental and physical exhaustion as well as feelings of social exclusion and isolation. Research has shown that the use of the Internet and online forums can provide an immediate place to find information and reassurance and that forum use can be an empathetic place to share experiences and seek emotional support. This article details a systematic literature search of research on carers of people with intellectual disabilities and/or autism using the Internet.

Life grids have been used in qualitative studies for the last two decades. They provide an activity which researcher and participant can focus their attention on, help build rapport, and reduce the control the researcher may hold within a session. Here we describe the novel use of life grids at the end of a data collection phase. Used in this previously unreported way, life grids assisted the closure of the data collection phase by summarizing the data collection and marking departure from the field.

Background Learning disability services must include the people who use them (individuals and their families/carers) in service commissioning, planning and delivery (Department of Health 2012. Transforming care: A national response to Winterbourne View Hospital. Department of Health review: Final report). One group of important stakeholders in learning disability services are the family members and carers of people with a learning disability.

Umbrella body Shared Lives Plus calls for national awareness raising campaign to help boost carer numbers. 

The Financial Crisis of 2008 resulted in many western economies implementing cuts in health and social care. This systematic review provides a holistic picture of the impact of austerity policy on the lives of people with learning disabilities (LD) and the collateral effects on the people who support them. Our review suggests that in the current climate of economic austerity, available funding to support people with LD is no longer aligned to their care needs. Cuts in disability services have adversely affected the well-being both of people with LD and their informal carers.

This report seeks to highlight the perspectives of family carers within the development of a national strategy for people with learning disabilities. The report represents a synthesis of a broad range of views, collected through consultation workshops, correspondence, conversations with family carers, and a review of the relevant  literature. 

Little attention has been paid to the immense struggles facing disabled people and their caregivers as they try to plan their long-term futures. This book sets out practical ways to maximise future care options for such community care user groups. It focuses on the priorities of older caregivers and people with learning disabilities to give numerous suggestions for increasing control people have over their affairs and links these to central legislation and entitlement issues.