When choking risk is identified for people with learning disabilities and fluid consistency modification is prescribed, it is critical that staff get the consistency right. Here we report on an efficacy study which looked at whether the use of Thickness Indicator Model tubes as a visual aid in training improved the efficacy of staff training.
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Many people with learning disabilities have physical disabilities that restrict their movement and put them at risk of developing body shape distortions. Here we report on the development of a new postural care pathway, produced by the Postural Care Community Interest Company.
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The Government progress report on the Confidential Inquiry into Premature Deaths of People with Learning Disabilities was published last week. In this blog, Pauline Heslop and colleagues who wrote the original Confidential Inquiry, reflect on the progress that has been made and what still needs to be done.
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Today we have a debut blog from Nick Burton, Regional Operations Manager at Mencap. He reviews a new multi-agency report that provides guidance for services working to reduce the risk of choking in people with learning disabilities.
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Living your own life in your own home is something most of take for granted. It’s just something you do. We don’t tend to think about community, or independent living, or planning, we get on with it. This is not always the case for people with learning disabilities. In this post, we wanted to link [read the full story…]
Following the uncovering of abuse at Winterbourne View by the BBC’s Panorama team, the Government committed to a programme of action to address what were recognised as system wide failures in the care and support of adults with learning disabilities described as having complex challenging behaviours. (Transforming Care) The Transforming Care document set out a [read the full story…]
Difficulties with swallowing can lead to significant risk, from aspiration, dehydration, recurrent chest infections and of course choking risk. Dysphagia, the difficulty in preparation of food in the mouth for swallowing, can have a number of causes, physiological, environmental and behavioural. The consequences of not identifying and then dealing with the issue can clearly have [read the full story…]
People with learning disabilities are 10 times more likely to have serious sight problems than other people and if people have severe or profound learning disabilities, the likelihood of having sight problems is further increased. The difficulties are compounded of course when people may not know they have a problem and may not be able [read the full story…]
Background Understanding the communication of people with profound learning and multiple disabilities provides a daily challenge to those supporting them. There are a number of guides and aids available to support this process, such as those developed through Mencap’s Involve Me project We recently posted the results of a small study looking at the relationship [read the full story…]
The recent publication of Raising Our Sights, the DH report into support for people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities set out a challenge for everyone concerned with understanding and responding to people with such disabilities. A number of projects have produced practical guides for involving and engaging with people, for example, Mencap’s Involve Me [read the full story…]
