In the wake of the dreadful events at Winterbourne view and the subsequent inquiries and reports, there is now a real push to consider the place of inpatient services for people with learning disabilities who present with complex needs and behavioural challenges. We have posted recently about alternatives to inpatient services, for example the Association [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…]
Young people with learning disabilities with behaviour that presents a challenge to services will usually have significant and complex needs which present additional challenges for planning transition from support from children’s to adult services. The authors of this paper carried out a survey of all the young people, between 16 and 18 years of age [read the full story…]
There is a wide literature on support for people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour, and studies looking at staff attitudes and attributions form a part of this. These studies have looked at inconsistencies in responses, the impact of specific attributions on helping behaviour etc. The authors of this current study acknowledge the contribution of [read the full story…]
The topic of challenging behaviour is the most used keyword tag here at the Learning Disabilities Elf. It accounts for a good proportion of all the posts we produce, which is a reflection of course of the published literature. Recent events in the UK have thrown into sharp relief the need to ensure that vulnerable [read the full story…]
The tag cloud on the Learning Disabilities Elf blog shows quite clearly that challenging behaviour is the topic we post about most, which reflects the ratio in published studies. Challenging behaviour can have a major impact on the safety of the person, people they live with or people who support them and is a major [read the full story…]
We have posted a number of times about staff burnout and the factors impacting on this, where previous studies have shown an assoication between stress, burnout and exposure to aggressive behaviours. The authors of this Canadian study were concerned that these previous attempts to study the issue were based on small samples and that there [read the full story…]
Studies have suggested that anti-psychotic medications comprise between 30–50% of all psychotropics prescribed for people with learning disabilities, often prescribed for people with challenging behaviours with no diagnosis of mental illness. Reviews of their use have suggested however that there is no strong evidence supporting the anti-aggressive properties of anti-psychotics. This study in Australia was [read the full story…]
The final report into the events at Winterbourne View Hospital was published on Monday (10.12.12) and sets out a programme of action which aims to ensure that people no longer have to live in hospitals, but receive support in line with best practice. Key outcomes in the Government’s programme include: Proposals to strengthen accountability [read the full story…]
