Despite many people with learning disabilities expressing the wish that they would like the opportunity to work, rates of employment remain extremely low. One concern that potential employers may have is that the risk of injury to workers with learning disabilities may be greater and consequently, insurance costs may rise. This Canadian study set out [read the full story…]
The authors of this study used a cognitive-emotive interview with 19 subjects with learning disabilities and 19 matched subjects without a learning disability. The authors set out to compare how people with and without learning disabilities talked about events, beliefs and emotions in dialogues which covered real-life, specific emotive events and as part of a [read the full story…]
How staff supporting children with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour is clearly of major importance. This Scottish study set out to look at the knowledge that teaching staff had regarding definitions of and management of challenging behaviour displayed by children with learning disability. They found that the levels of knowledge amongst staff levels were relatively [read the full story…]
The Mental Capacity Act has created a legal framework for those supporting people with learning disabilities making decisions about the way they live their lives. The Act provides safeguards for those people who may be unable to make decisions for themselves and sets out guidance for supporters. The authors of this paper carried out an [read the full story…]
In this US study, the authors looked at the prevalence of obesity in people with learning disability and those in the general U.S. adult population without learning disability. They found that adults with learning disability did not differ from the general population in prevalence of obesity. However, when they combined obesity and overweight they found [read the full story…]
The supporters of children with fragile X syndrome often report behaviour that challenges as a major concern. The authors of this small-scale, multiple baseline design study set out to explore whether behaviourally-based interventions might result in reductions in problem behaviour and improvements in the quality of life for 3 children with fragile X syndrome and [read the full story…]
This review of literature published in the last twelve months set out to chart progress made in understanding anatomical and functional features in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The authors searched databases for research findings in the neuroimaging of autism using a variety of Medline search terms They found that techniques such as functional magnetic resonance [read the full story…]
This small scale study set out to carry out an initial exploration of the measurement of therapy expectancy in adults with learning disabilities through the therapy expectation measure (TEAM). The authors combined a top-down theory-driven and bottom-up data-driven process in the initial development phase, where they identified TEAM items and format, followed by correlational analyses [read the full story…]
Many studies have looked at the difficulties associated with medication management in people with learning disabilities. This study set out to looked at an approach to medication management and treatment in an outpatient psychiatry clinic for 198 community-residing children and adults with learning disability who were referred to the clinic and subsequently discharged over an [read the full story…]
Inclusion sits at the heart of policy relating to the support of people with learning disabilities. This Norwegian study set out to look at some practical implications of this in relation to providing support to older people with learning disabilities, in particular the views and attitudes of people using ‘senior centres’ in Norway to the [read the full story…]
