Self-injurious behaviour (SIB) usually directly results in physical harm to an individual. Examples include hand biting, head slapping, picking at skin, gouging or striking the body or eating inedible material. Some researchers have begun to include stereotypy or repetitive movements in a definition of self-injurious behaviour, even if they do not result on tissue damage.. [read the full story…]
A key question facing commissioners of support services is how to develop personalised quality services for people within an increasingly tighter financial envelope. Some recent research published by Social Finance and Community Catalysts, may suggest one approach that could prove to be of benefit in developing community connections for people as well as reducing costs. [read the full story…]
The abusive practices by staff at Winterbourne View has led to a number of investigations, reports and recommendations, including serious case review. The need for change in was set out in the Department of Health’s publication of the final report on Winterbourne view – ‘Transforming Care: A national response to Winterbourne View‘ In the West [read the full story…]
Short breaks offer an opportunity for the person supported to be away from home and for family carers the opportunity to recharge depleted batteries. Earlier this year, we reported on the publication of Mencap’s survey of families which suggested that 8 out of 10 families surveyed reported they had reached breaking point, reporting high levels [read the full story…]
There is a body of literature looking at parental stress for parents of children with disabilities, but the researchers in this Canadian study were interested in looking specifically at a comparison of parental stress for parents of children with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and those with children with autism spectrum disorder. They reported the [read the full story…]
In 2000, the Scottish Office published ‘The same as you?’ a ten year programme for development. In 2010, a two-year evaluation of the programme began to look at what progress had been made and what still needed to be achieved. The national Learning Disability Strategy group worked on the key themes that emerged from this [read the full story…]
Community Treatments Orders (CTOs) were introduced to enable people who had been detained under certain sections of the Mental Health Act 1983 to be discharged from the hospital and treated in the community. The supervising doctor however retains the power to recall that person to hospital if necessary The majority of studies into the use [read the full story…]
Following concerns raised by recent investigations into the quality of healthcare of the national nursing strategy, ‘Compassion in Practice’ has set out a vision for nursing based on the 6 ‘C’s of Care, Compassion, Competence, Communication, Courage and Commitment. Action area 5 of the strategy is looking at ensuring right staff with the right skills [read the full story…]
A short while ago, we posted about the development of a tool to help understand the sexual knowledge of people with learning disabilities which was piloted in a secure services setting. There is a growing literature which focuses on issues of abuse, contraception or sex education, but there is little which has looked at how [read the full story…]
Given that autism spectrum disorders are characterised by deficits in social reciprocity and communication, there is a school of thought that suggests that exploiting the emotional aspects of human-dog relationships may hold potential to overcome some difficulties of people with ASD to relate and interact effectively with others. The authors of this review set out [read the full story…]
