The researchers in this small study set out to explore the impact of interpersonal conflict on people with mild to moderate learning disabilities. Previous research has provided insights into the nature of the impact of such conflict on increasing stress and contributing to poor mental health, but few studies have looked at the experiences of [read the full story…]
Pulpotomy is one of a number of approaches (indirect pulp capping, direct pulp capping, pulpotomy, pulpectomy) for managing carious lesions approaching the pulp of primary teeth with the aim of retaining the tooth in a symptom free state until it is lost naturally thus avoiding an extraction. Formocresol has been used for a number of [read the full story…]
We know that it can take many years for people with bipolar disorder to be accurately diagnosed, following an initial episode of mental illness. This cohort study carried out by researchers from Denmark, the US and Wales, set out to study to what extent psychiatric disorders with postpartum onset (following childbirth) are early manifestations of [read the full story…]
This review of the literature sets out to look at developments in concepts and measures of family quality of life. The authors identify a developing trend from interventions for people with learning disabilities based solely on the individual’s special needs independent of the family and environmental context through to a position where these needs are [read the full story…]
Recent studies have shown that pre-school children can be affected by post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and that the condition can last for years even after treatment. Good quality randomised trials have shown that trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy can be a very effective treatment for older children and adolescents with PTSD, but there have been [read the full story…]
This study looked at the responses of paid carers to incidents of challenging behaviour. The author was interested in the potential inconsistency of responses. Studies of responses to challenging behaviour have used stimuli that might generate different responses from carers to those that might be generated by actual instances of behaviour of real people. To [read the full story…]
This paper describes a case study of a young man with Asperger syndrome who set a fire in his home. The authors point out that offences may be committed by people with autistic spectrum disorders because of deficits in social skills, co-morbid mental health problems or abuse of drugs and alcohol. There may also be [read the full story…]
We have posted elsewhere on the blog about some of the issues faced by people responding to the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act. The author of this paper set out to clarify the differences between the terms’ capacity’ and ‘competence’ as used in the Act, in order to help practitioners, people with disabilities and [read the full story…]
We know that mental health problems often go hand in hand with other physical health complaints. Older adults with cancer and mental health issues are especially vulnerable as they tend to suffer from behavioural, socio-economic and biological changes that act as barriers to effective healthcare. This retrospective cohort study conducted by researchers from the University [read the full story…]
Since the formation in 1998 of the palliative care for people with learning disabilities network, there has been some work bringing together service providers and carers to enable better co-ordination of care for the benefit of people with learning disabilities who have palliative care needs. However, there is still a lack of research into the [read the full story…]
