Yesterday, we posted about the increasing longevity of people with learning disabilities and the potential for problems with sleep disturbance in this group. Today, we look at a review of the current evidence relating to the age related needs of these older adults who may be at increased risk of age-related disorders like dementia and [read the full story…]
Life expectancy in people with learning disabilities has increased over recent years, and sleep problems become more common in people who are advancing in years. Sleep problems are also generally more common in people with learning disabilities than those without. The authors of this systematic review were interested to look at the way in which [read the full story…]
We recently posted about the views of older people with learning disabilities and the things they wanted in relation to their support. In recent years there have also been a number of projects that have focused on ways to provide support to older carers of people. Those projects have suggested the key mediator role of [read the full story…]
People with learning disabilities are living longer. A recent update of the estimates of need for social care services by the learning disabilities public health observatory (IHAL 2012) suggested that by 2030 the number of adults aged 70+ using social care services for people with learning disabilities will more than double. Some years ago, the [read the full story…]
Sleep problems in young people with learning disabilities have been explored in a number of studies, particularly in relation to the impact on families and supporters, but there is relatively little in the literature about the impact of sleep problems on older people with learning disabilities. The researchers in this Dutch study wanted to look [read the full story…]
Inclusion sits at the heart of policy relating to the support of people with learning disabilities. This Norwegian study set out to look at some practical implications of this in relation to providing support to older people with learning disabilities, in particular the views and attitudes of people using ‘senior centres’ in Norway to the [read the full story…]
This Australian study set out to explore the issues relating to retirement for older employees with learning disabilities in supported employment services. The researchers discussed retirement in 6 separate focus group interviews, with staff from disability accommodation and employment services, members of mainstream activity programmes for older people, family members of people with disabilities and [read the full story…]
Researchers in this Australian study were concerned to consider the issue of planning for future care and support of people with learning disabilities after the death of parental caregivers. They were considered the need to adapt support systems to ensure the best possible quality of life for people with intellectual disability as they grow older. [read the full story…]
This study reports an online survey that set out to find out more about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in later life. The survey consisted of an online questionnaire (biographical information, general health, quality of life, score on Autism Quotient [AQ] measure) of adults in their forties, resident in the UK, diagnosed with ASD or who [read the full story…]
The POMONA II European project developed a checklist of health indicators and this study looked at age-specific differences relating to environmental and lifestyle factors. The study team collected information from a stratified sample of 1,253 adults with learning disabilities across 14 European member states. The results showed that people over 55 were more likely to [read the full story…]
