This Australian study set out to look at the use of restraints and seclusion as responses to people with learning disabilities with behaviour described as challenging. The authors point out that the prevalence rate of such restrictive practices is difficult to agree as previous studies have not used population-level data. They used data on the [read the full story…]
The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme which was established to treat people with mild to moderate depression and anxiety. Positive Practice Guidance was published in 2009, but there are currently no areas listed as having a special interest in psychological therapies to people with learning disabilities. You can download the Positive Practice Guidance [read the full story…]
Last week we posted about a study in the Netherlands which called for more cross sector collaboration to tackle the issue of substance misuse , but there is little in the literature about possible links between the prevalence of substance abuse and links to offending behaviour among people with learning disabilities. The authors of this [read the full story…]
The authors of this study set out to look into the issue of behaviour associated with pain in people with learning disabilities being misinterpreted as reflecting psychopathology. The authors worked with caregivers of 123 children and young people to examine whether psychopathology altered pain behaviour. They asked the caregivers to complete a checklist, the ‘Non-Communicating [read the full story…]
There is little in the literature at present about the lived experience of people with mild learning disabilities from minority ethnic communities. This qualitative study set out to look at this issue and to generate a deeper understanding of their experiences. The author individually interviewed four adults with mild learning disabilities who were being supported [read the full story…]
A keystone of policy relating to the support of people with learning disabilities in England is the involvement of service users in planning and delivering their support. This is also reflected in policy relating to risk assessment and management processes. However, the evidence from the literature at present suggests that this involvement is not yet [read the full story…]
The purpose of this brief review was to look at the conclusions of reviews published in the last ten years into the effectiveness of psychotherapy with people with learning disabilities. The authors conclude that from the findings of those reviews, there is evidence that psychotherapy with people with learning disabilities can be moderately effective, in [read the full story…]
The authors of this study set out to investigate sleep patterns in children with Down syndrome by asking parents to complete a questionnaire on sleep habits. Typical sleep problems included sleep maintenance problems, snoring, and disordered breathing. The authors administered a 33 item questionnaire on children’s sleep habits to the parents of 35 children with [read the full story…]
Mindfulness as described in modern psychology relates to a way of people bringing complete attention to their present experience and involves responding to that experience with a non-judgmental attitude.The authors of this study wanted to review the adaptation and application of mindfulness-based psychotherapeutic practices for people with learning disabilities. They provide an overview of the [read the full story…]
We have posted elsewhere on the site about the issue of support for parents with learning disabilities and the differences in perspective that exist between parents with disabilities and the professionals who support them. The authors of this study looked at the need for accurate planning data to support the development of support services. The [read the full story…]
