Adults

Family care provision is the norm for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), even as they and their support networks grow older. As families age together, the role of primary carer frequently transitions from the parent to a sibling, as aging parents die or become too frail to provide continued support. The purpose of this paper is to explore the transition in care from the perspective of a sibling who has replaced parents as the primary carer for an individual aging with I/DD.

This quality standard covers the treatment and management of psychosis and schizophrenia (including related psychotic disorders such as schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder and delusional disorder) in adults with onset before the age of 60 years in primary, secondary and community care. It does not cover adults with transient psychotic symptoms.

Mental health services are required to involve family, carers, and service users in the delivery and development of mental health services but how this can be done in routine practice is challenging. One potential solution is to prescribe practice standards or clear expectation relating to family involvement. This paper describes practice standards introduced to an adult mental health service and a study that aimed to evaluate the impact of the standards on practice.

People with learning disabilities have high dependency needs and high prevalence of physical, psychological and social morbidities. Some studies have shown that South Asian and white populations have a similar prevalence of learning disabilities and related psychological morbidity (McGrother et al, 2002), although other studies have shown an increased prevalence of severe levels of learning disabilities in the South Asian population (Emerson et al, 1997).

This online guide looks at how social care services can improve access to adults with autism. It is based on research that explores the barriers to services experienced by people with autism. It covers people with autism, whether or not they also have a learning disability. The main sections of the guide cover: awareness raising; acceptability and accessibility; joint working; transitions; early intervention and prevention; personalising services; and carers. The guide suggests ways services can improve, identifying how best to meet the goals of the government's autism strategy.

The aim of this paper is to describe working with the carers (families) of adults with anorexia nervosa (AN), which is different from working with families of younger adolescents. The main difference is in the area of rights and responsibilities of both parties. Moreover, as AN in adults is often a chronic condition, the treatment goal may not focus on recovery, but instead on improvement in quality of life. Thus the spectrum of nature and degree of parental involvement in the treatment of adults with AN is much broader than in children and adolescents.

Background: There is a large and diverse literature on the concept of hope in health care.

Clinical guideline which provides best practice advice on the care of adults with autism. The guidance covers the following key areas: general principles of care; identification and assessment; and interventions for autism, challenging behaviour, coexisting mental disorders. Assessment and interventions for families, partners and carers and organisation and delivery of care are also covered.

The Valuing People White Paper (Department of Health, 2001) requires services to secure a plan for all service-users with learning disabilities living with older carers and promises them and their families more choice and control over how and where they live. This paper examines the views of the older carers (aged over seventy) of sixty-two adults with a learning disability about planning for the future. Fifty-six took part in interviews in their own homes and six completed a questionnaire.

While there is increased recognition of the role of family carers in supporting adults with social care needs, some groups of carers are overlooked or hidden from professional view. Carers of people with substance misuse problems may be among this group since they are at risk of feeling guilty and stigmatised; targeting and eligibility criteria may concentrate professionals’ activities on people with high levels of need for practical support and there may be complex family dynamics where the role of carer does not fit traditional models.