Whilst estimates of the numbers of people with learning disabilities in the criminal justice system are unreliable because of definitional confusions, there is a recognition that their experience can be confusing and isolating.
Here Sian Anderson looks at a review of published studies which represented the voices of people with learning disabilities themselves to help understand just how they experience the criminal justice system.
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The Learning Disability Carers Community is calling for parents and carers to take part in a survey of annual health checks. Read on to find out how you can get involved.
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Down syndrome is the most common cause of learning disability in the UK and life expectancy has shown a dramatic increase in the last fifty years. However, people with Down syndrome face significant health issues.
In this blog, GP Matt Hoghton looks at a recent clinical review published in the BMJ, which provides advice and guidance on managing care and support for people with Down syndrome.
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We are looking for people who have skills in reading, appraising and writing about learning disabilities evidence. If that sounds like you, please read more and drop us a line!
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Estimates suggest that dysphagia affects 8% of all adults with learning disabilities and that 15% require some form of mealtime support.
Here we report on a study that set out to look at the association between the need for support with eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties and the use of primary and secondary healthcare services.
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Although the research base is small, it does strongly suggest that the attitudes of support workers can be key influencers of outcomes for people with learning disabilities and this would seem to be an entirely reasonable assumption. Here, Louise Phillips looks at a study which set out to not only explore the attitudes of a number of support workers in one service, but also to consider whether existing attitude measurement scales capture the range of attitudes expressed.
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Adults with Williams syndrome are said to have a highly social personality, but can find it difficult to form and maintain relationships.
Here we report on a recent observational study which compared parent and self-report measures of social behaviour to observations of real life social situations.
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Mindfulness is increasingly recognised as an effective way to reduce stress and improve well-being
Here Kate van Dooren looks at a randomised controlled trial of a mindfulness based stress reduction programme with mothers of children with autism and other developmental delays to look at its impact on levels of distress over time.
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The Directed Enhanced Scheme offers reimbursement to GP surgeries to carry out annual health checks for people with learning disabilities. Here, we report on a cohort study which looked at the impact of the scheme over a three year period.
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This year, for the first time, people with learning disabilities were identified as a clinical risk group in the guidance for flu vaccinations, but a telephone survey carried out by Mencap suggested that many GP surgeries were not offering this free jab.
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