Mindfulness in modern psychology relates to bringing complete attention to the present experience, often involving a non-judgmental attitude to that experience. The authors in this study wanted to look at whether a new measure of staff values in learning disability services could help to better understand the potential effectiveness of mindfulness in the well being [read the full story…]
Rett syndrome affects girls and is characterized by progressive motor disablement, loss of acquired skills, seizures and autism. Scoliosis is also a commonly seen as a complication and this study set out to describe its prevalence, classify spinal deformity, and evaluate associations between disability and scoliosis. 29 patients took part in the study, ages ranging [read the full story…]
The reporting of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms has been increasing in people with learning disability but researchers have also argued that such symptoms are being under diagnosed and also poorly treated. This review set out to identify the level of ADHD symptoms in children and adults with learning disabilities reported in published studies [read the full story…]
This study set out to look at associations between psychiatric disorders in people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviours. The study used a large sample and controlled for sex, age, autism and degree of learning disability. The researchers used data from 47% of all people with learning disabilities who were known to and receiving services [read the full story…]
The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, which were introduced as amendments to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 on 1 April 2009, are designed to protect vulnerable people against overly restrictive care while they are in hospitals or care homes. This second annual report on Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards uses data provided every three months by English [read the full story…]
Obesity is a major health concern in adults with learning disabilities. This study set out to evaluate the impact of a locally delivered NHS health promotion programme. 191 adults with learning disabilities took part in the evaluation and were screened and monitored over a 2-year period with attendance rates and body mass index (BMI) used [read the full story…]
A new report published by the Social Care Institute for Excellence shares findings from research, policy and practice on prevention in adult safeguarding and presents a wide range of approaches that can help prevent abuse. The key messages are: • Prevention of abuse has not always been high on the adult safeguarding agenda, but there is [read the full story…]
Sex offender treatment programmes for men with learning disabilities who have perpetrated sex offences or inappropriate sexual behaviour have been show to have beneficial effects for in a number of studies. The authors of this study set out to look at the treatments and compare two groups – offenders against adults and offenders against children. [read the full story…]
Antipsychotics are widely used for the management of behavioural problems in people with learning disability, despite concerns about the lack of a good evidence base for this practice (see Cochrane review) The researchers in this study set out to audit clinical practice of prescribing anti-psychotics against standards of good practice. The authors collected data from [read the full story…]
There is limited research into homosexuality and people with learning disabilities (see for example Norah Fry Centre project. What literature there is has identified low levels of knowledge, homophobic attitudes and negative experiences. The researchers in this study looked at attitudes towards homosexuality and gender role beliefs in a group 27 of women with learning [read the full story…]
