This review of the literature looked at issues relating to the development of haptic exploratory strategies in children who have visual impairment and learning disabilities. Haptic perception refers to the recognition of objects through touch, involving the perception of patterns such as edges, curves and textures, whereby people can identify three-dimensional objects by moving their [read the full story…]
As long ago as 1994 Emerson and Hatton produced a review of UK literature on the outcomes for people with learning disabilities leaving long stay institutions (Emerson E & Hatton C (1994); Moving Out: Relocation from Hospital to Community) which involved 2,350 service users. The findings of this review of international studies nearly twenty years [read the full story…]
There has been a developing literature about the health inequalities experienced by people with learning disabilities, leading to a number of policy responses. This literature review focused specifically on inequalities experienced by children and young people up to the age of 18, looking to synthesize evidence on the prevalence and determinants of health conditions 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…]
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 paper set out to look at rates of sexual abuse and interpersonal trauma in people with learning disability. They hoped to explore the relationship between such trauma and psychological distress and to describe a psychotherapeutic intervention for such people. The findings from a review of the literature suggested an inverse relationship [read the full story…]
Pica refers to eating objects which are inedible. In people with learning disabilities this may manifest itself as ingesting specific objects, or it may be indiscriminate. The Challenging Behaviour Foundation has produced a factsheet with further information. This review set out to look at the existing literature on treatment of pica. The author uses the [read the full story…]
The authors of this review set out to provide a comprehensive, critical review of the clinically relevant literature concerning depression in Down syndrome (DS) focusing on epidemiology, potential risk factors, diagnosis, course characteristics and treatment. The search was carried out in January 2011 and excluded review articles not adding new information and single case reports. [read the full story…]
This review of literature set out to explore the issues relating to families relinquishing the support of their family member with learning disabilities, often at a point of crisis. The review looked at situations where the family member is placed by disability services in respite care until suitable permanent accommodation can be organised or indeed, [read the full story…]
The early 1990s saw the publication of the original Mansell report into services for people with challenging behaviour. This report highlighted the issue of the use of out of area placements to meet the needs of people with learning disabilities and suggested that the continued reliance on such placements would stunt the growth of local [read the full story…]
