Getting feedback about interventions from people with learning disabilities involves a number of challenges, including of course communication difficulties The researchers in this study were interested in how occupational therapists (OT’s) gathered feedback from people who used their services. They looked at this by asking 70 OT’s to complete a questionnaire and a subset of [read the full story…]
Earlier this year, we posted about the report of the Modernising Learning Disability Nursing Review Group, which explored ways in which access to expert learning disabilities nurses could be assured across the UK. There were a number of recommendations for action and the a UK-wide Steering Group was to be set up to support a [read the full story…]
Staff working with people with complex needs relating to challenging behaviours or mental health needs will be dealing with a range of emotions on a daily basis. The authors of this qualitative study were interested to explore how staff dealt with these and what implications this might have for the organisation employing them. They worked [read the full story…]
Staff supporting people with learning disabilities may find it extremely difficult to deal with bereavement in somebody they support. It is important to recognise that everybody has the right to grieve when they lose somebody they cared for, and this is just as true for people with learning disabilities. The researchers in this study recognised [read the full story…]
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT – pronounced as the word rather than the initials) is based on the notion that it is important to accept what is out of your personal control but commit to action to improve and enrich your life. ACT is an approach which sets out to teach psychological skills to deal [read the full story…]
As you know, we at Elf towers are committed to making research evidence available in a way that helps people who support people with learning disabilities to be evidence based. However, as well as knowledge based practice, we also recognise that practice based knowledge – what we all learn from our experiences of being supported [read the full story…]
Estimates for the prevalence of self injurious behaviour vary from 4% to 10% as a result of case definition differences and study methodologies. However, such behaviours have a major impact of the quality of life of those involved and present challenges to family members and paid carers. There is some evidence emerging that suggests that [read the full story…]
People with learning disabilities are more likely to have tooth decay, loose teeth, have gum disease, show higher levels of untreated disease and also have a larger number of extractions than those without disabilities, although evidence does exist to suggest that well-performed preventive procedures can prevent progression of dental disease and reduce tooth loss. The [read the full story…]
Multi-sensory story telling is one way that adults with profound and multiple learning disabilities can make sense of who they are and what is happening in their day to day lives. The books used are individualised stories which, in addition to verbal text, also involve sensory stimulation. The approach is gaining in popularity, but as [read the full story…]
Attitudes held by professionals towards the empowerment of people with learning disabilities can impact enormously on the nature of the support they receive. There is a big literature on the impact of attitudes held by medical professional s on access to and quality of healthcare for example. This issue was key to the pace of [read the full story…]
