The issue of faith and participation in faith communities for people with learning disabilities is not widely explored in the literature. In 2004, the foundation for people with learning disabilities published the report of a two-year action research project to develop and describe creative ideas for meeting people’s religious needs and produced a good practice [read the full story…]
The Department of Health have published the results of the first nationwide survey of bereaved relatives in England. The survey looked at the last 3 months of life and assessed the quality of care that people received and how this varied in different parts of the country and in different groups of patients. The postal [read the full story…]
In the UK as a whole the most recent estimate from an Action for Advocacy survey is that 55.4% of advocacy organisations provide services for people with learning disabilities, although there is growing concern about the precarious nature of funding for many of those services. The IHAL report points to the argument that the development [read the full story…]
Commissioners need to become adept at decommissioning. At a time of significant and sustained reductions in public spending and rising demand, commissioners are tasked to release funding for investment in effective models of service by actively challenging and taking resources out of less effective approaches. Drawing on examples of decommissioning and innovation from across the [read the full story…]
The Mental Capacity Act (2005) was amended in 2007 with the addition of the deprivation of liberty safeguards (DoLS). They exist n the code of practice and came into force in April 2009. The safeguards are there to make sure that if anyone is unable to consent to care or treatment, there are systems in [read the full story…]
Goffman’s seminal work identified social stigma as severe disapproval of a person on the grounds of characteristics they have that tend to distinguish them from other members of the society in which they live. The researchers in this study were interested in the perception of stigma in 43 adults with learning disabilities and the nature [read the full story…]
Delusional-like experiences (DLE) are quite common in the general population with a median prevalence of around 3.5% (ref 2). Studies show that these experiences often go hand-in-hand with other mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, as well as other chronic physical disorders such as impairments in hearing and vision. It is thought that [read the full story…]
Adults with severe learning disability also have a greater likelihood of having autism according to a new report published by the NHS Information Centre. The report combines data from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) 2007 with findings from a new study based on a sample of people with learning disabilities living in private households [read the full story…]
Older families, where people with learning disabilities live with parents, brothers or sisters over 65, may need more support as they get older. As life expectancy for people with learning disabilities is it may be that increasingly, siblings will assume responsibility for care. The researchers in this study were interested to look at what factors [read the full story…]
Ten years ago, the Mencap campaigns team produced a document setting out the lack of activity for many people with learning disabilities, A Life in the Day, Campaigns Team, Mencap, February 2002.) This continues to be a concern today for many. This US study responded to the concerns expressed by parents and professionals about the [read the full story…]
