Women with learning disabilities have limited understanding of breast and cervical screening

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Poor health in people with learning disabilities is associated with a number of risk factors, one of which is the lower likelihood of getting timely access to screening services. Previous studies have shown that women with learning disabilities are less likely than those without disabilities to have access to cervical and breast cancer screening services [read the full story…]

People with learning disabilities experience physical interventions as painful and emotionally distressing

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Physical interventions are still widely used in learning disability services, with BILD estimating their use in around half of all people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour. The experience of people with learning disabilities of such interventions is not something that has been reported widely in the literature, but the researchers in this study set [read the full story…]

Front line managers remain key to quality outcomes in supported accommodation for people with learning disabilities

Planning

One of the key findings of the early research into community services for people with learning disabilities who had lived in long stay institutions, was that the quality of first line management was one of the main factors affecting outcomes. This Australian study set out to look at the work of front-line managers in supported [read the full story…]

Integrated sports for people with learning disabilities offer benefits but barriers still exist

Healthy

The authors of this study were interested in looking at the use of integrated sports as one strategy for promoting health and social participation of adolescents with learning disabilities. They set out to improve understanding of the factors associated with such integration by carrying out individual interviews with 40 adolescents with learning disabilities and their [read the full story…]

Lack of appropriate information impedes self-management of diabetes in people with learning disabilities

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We have posted previously about the management of diabetes in people with learning disabilities, as the prevalence of diabetes is relatively high in this group. It is only relatively recently however, that researchers have begun to explore how people experience having diabetes and how they manage the condition. This small qualitative study involved 17 people [read the full story…]

Positive beliefs held by adolescents about people with learning disabilities may mask underlying hostile attitudes

There is sparse evidence for the efficacy and safety of antipsychotics in people with learning disabilities.

Inclusion is at the heart of national policy relating to the support of people with learning disabilities, but there is little research available into the attitudes of the general public to people with learning disabilities. The researchers in this study were interested in particular in the how young people from White British and South Asian [read the full story…]

Small practical steps may offer best way to reach consensus on relationship and sexuality education for people with learning disabilities

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National policy in the UK regarding supporting people with learning disabilities has focused on personalising support, improving social inclusion and the removal of obstacles relating to access to education, employment, healthcare and housing. The authors of the current study suggest that there has been significant progress in these areas, but when looking at the area [read the full story…]

Custody sergeants’ differences of understanding of learning disability led directly to differences in provision of support in custody

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In 2008, the Prison Reform Trust carried out work on the issues facing people with learning disabilities in the criminal justice system, resulting in the ‘No One Knows’ report which suggested they faced ‘personal, systemic and routine’ discrimination from the point of arrest through to release from prison. One key finding was that  less than [read the full story…]

Video review could help people with learning disabilities describe experiences of cognitive behaviour therapy

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Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is a tallking therapy which aims to help people to solve problems through a systematic goal-oriented process. existing NICE guidelines recommend CBT for a number of mental health issues. A recent review of the evidence on the potential of CBT as a treatment option for people with learning disabilities (Taylor et [read the full story…]

Some people with learning disabilities may have a partial understanding of the concept of death

Comfort

It is clearly important to pay close attention to the emotional needs of people with learning disabilities at a time of bereavement, but this can be especially difficult to do if the bereaved person has a limited understanding of the concept of death. The researchers in this study wanted to understand how people with learning [read the full story…]