Previous studies have suggested that people with mild learning disability show a higher rate of offending when compared with peers without learning disability and that this rate is especially high in those aged under 18. High rates of learning disability have also been found in studies of young offenders in custody. In the U.S., one [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…]
Whilst there has been significant progress in recent years in acknowledging the rights of people with learning disabilities to live their lives in the way they choose, responding to the right to be sexually active continues to throw up challenges for services and families. Part of the difficulty is that people with learning disabilities may [read the full story…]
Here at Elf Towers, we strive to bring you the best evidence from published studies, but from time to time, we have the opportunity to talk to you about research that is just getting underway. One such research project is being run by our friends at the Norah Fry Research Centre who are about to [read the full story…]
Making the decision to consent to medical treatment requires access to information, presented in clear and understandable ways. There is evidence that that people with learning disabilities do not always understand information about medications they are prescribed, for example from the medication matters project carried out at the Norah Fry centre which produced a series of [read the full story…]
In 2010, a study by Age UK suggested that up to one in three people aged 65 and over fall each year and that the cost to the NHS in England of falls amongst older people was estimated to be up to £4.6m a day. Age UK suggest that if older people took regular exercise [read the full story…]
People with learning disabilities are living longer. The Royal College of Nursing website suggests that over the course of the last century, life expectancy for this group has increased significantly, with mean life expectancy estimated to be 74, 67 and 58 for those with mild, moderate and severe learning disabilities respectively. The researchers in this [read the full story…]
The authors of this study were interested in looking at support to adults with autism spectrum disorder in staffed housing services. Their focus was on looking at whether diagnostic congregation, or grouping people with similar diagnoses, was prevalent in services and if so, whether it had any impact on outcomes. They worked with 157 adults [read the full story…]
Short breaks offer a way for people with disabilities and their family carers to take a break from each other. For the person supported, they offer an opportunity to be away from home and for family carers an opportunity to recharge depleted batteries. In 2003, Mencap surveyed seventy six families from across England and Northern [read the full story…]
Avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions for ‘ambulatory care sensitive conditions’ (ACSCs), reduces costs and should provide good outcomes for patients. ACSCs are defined as those where ‘effective management’ at the primary care level should avoid admission to hospital. Many of the conditions identified as ACSCs, for example convulsions and epilepsy are more common among people with [read the full story…]
