Search results for ‘Subject term:"learning disabilities"’ Sort:
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Working reflexively in learning disabilities: what Emma taught us
- Authors:
- MANNERS Paula Jean, RUSS Marina, CARRUTHERS Emma
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 34(4), December 2006, pp.211-214.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This article is about the feelings of powerlessness that professionals feel to cure learning disability and to answer questions such as 'why do I have a learning disability?'. The authors describe how on person with learning disabilities showed them, through role play, what it was like to have learning disabilities.
Understanding violence when the perpetrator has an intellectual disability: the perceptions of professionals
- Authors:
- LOVELL Andrew, SKELLERN Joanne
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 23(4), 2019, pp.552-566.
- Publisher:
- Sage
- Place of publication:
- London
Aim: The research sought to enhance professional understanding of the violence perpetrated by some people with an intellectual disability. Background: The violent behaviour exhibited by some people with intellectual disabilities remains poorly understood, particularly with regard to a clear and informative definition. Design: A qualitative study investigated the views and perceptions of professionals working directly with people with an intellectual disability in different settings. Methods: Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were undertaken with professionals from a variety of backgrounds, and four themes were generated through data analysis. Findings: Themes produced comprised the degree of intellectual disability, impulsivity, intentionality and unpredictability. Findings indicated tension between understanding violence as purposeful and explaining it in relation to the intellectual disability and/or additional conditions. Conclusion: Intellectual disability is central to understanding the impact of the other three themes, though there is a professional reluctance to use such knowledge as evidence to inform practice. (Publisher abstract)
Qualities in friendship: within an outside perspective: definitions expressed by adolescents with mild intellectual disabilities
- Author:
- SIGSTAD Hanne Marie Hoybraten
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 21(1), 2017, pp.20-39.
- Publisher:
- Sage
- Place of publication:
- London
Background: This study examined how adolescents with mild intellectual disabilities define qualities of friendship and discussed the extent to which these definitions adhere to established definitions of close friendship. Materials and Methods: The study was based on qualitative interviews with 11 adolescents in secondary school. The interviews were supplemented with information from six parents. A thematic structural analysis was used to identify themes. Results: Qualities of friendship were categorised as mutual preference, mutual enjoyment, shared interactions, care, mutual trust and bonding. The criteria for close friendship seem to be fulfilled, albeit to a moderate degree. Closeness and reciprocity appear to be significant in this study, although these features have been considered less relevant within this target group in previous research. Conclusions: Differences in definitions may explain divergent results compared with other studies, and the need to achieve equivalence in friendship may be another. (Edited publisher abstract)
‘Being friends means helping each other, making coffee for each other’: reciprocity in the friendships of people with intellectual disability
- Author:
- CALLUS Anne-Marie
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 32(1), 2017, pp.1-16.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Friendship is an issue of concern for many people with intellectual disability. The aim of the research presented in this paper is to understand how people with intellectual disability experience friendship and what friendship means for them. A focus group was held with seven people with intellectual disability, who are members of a self-advocacy group. An inductive thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data. The people that the research participants identified as their friends were fellow self-advocates, family members, support workers and co-workers. They also identified behaviours and actions that foster friendship and those that undermine it. The analysis shows how the research participants identified as friendships those relationships which had an element of reciprocity, while linking a lack of reciprocity with the absence of friendship. It is very important for non-disabled people to understand the perspectives of people with intellectual disability they live and work with. (Edited publisher abstract)
The identities and social roles of people with an intellectual disability: challenging dominant cultural worldviews, values and mythologies
- Authors:
- DOROZENKO Kate P., ROBERTS Lynne D., BISHOP Brian J.
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 30(9), 2015, pp.1345-1364.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Intellectual disability is commonly conceptualised as stigmatised identity with which one has to live. However, within the literature the notion of a damaged identity is contested. The aim of this research was to explore the social construction of intellectual disability, with an emphasis on the identities and social roles of people with an intellectual disability. Informed by a contextualist perspective, this research was conducted within a participatory framework. The co-researchers involved in this research were 18 members of an advocacy agency. Photovoice and conversational interviewing were used to collect data and causal layered analysis was used to deconstruct the data. Analysis of the interactions that emerged across the causal layers revealed a complex dynamic of worldviews which served to construct people with an intellectual disability as incompetent, inherently different and not quite human. For genuine, transformative change to occur, developing an awareness and understanding of social processes, such as dehumanisation, is crucial. (Publisher abstract)
Students’ attitudes towards individuals with an intellectual disability
- Authors:
- PATEL Meera, ROSE John
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 18(1), 2014, pp.90-103.
- Publisher:
- Sage
- Place of publication:
- London
The aim of the study was to investigate attitudes held by a British student population towards individuals with an intellectual disability. Students participated in focus groups addressing their attitudes, behaviours and perceptions of individuals with an intellectual disability. Thematic analysis was the method used to identify emergent themes. Results identified five main themes in relation to intellectual disabilities. The themes suggest that attitude scales fail to effectively measure the multidimensional nature of British student’s attitudes towards intellectual disabilities. One out of the five emergent attitude themes from the current study is sufficiently represented in measures of attitudes towards intellectual disability. These results suggest a need to modify current attitude scales or develop new ones to measure the British population’s attitudes towards intellectual disabilities. A lack of knowledge about intellectual disabilities was also identified. Participants recognized exposure through the media as a tool to increase knowledge. (Publisher abstract)
Staff characteristics and attitudes towards the sexuality of people with intellectual disability
- Authors:
- MEANEY-TAVARES Rebecca, GAVIDIA-PAYNE Susana
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 37(3), September 2012, pp.269-273.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
People with learning disabilities often experience difficulties in correctly interpreting behavioural cues which may have detrimental outcomes with respect to their expression of sexuality. The identification of individual staff characteristics that have a relationship with specific attitudes of staff caring for people with learning disabilities may enable targeted training and better support. In this study, 66 participants from services for people with learning disabilities in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia, completed a survey, including the Attitudes to Sexuality Questionnaire. Findings revealed that staff attitudes towards the sexuality of people with learning disabilities were quite positive. Age, programme agency position, and training uptake were all associated with positive staff attitudes. The authors concluded that targeted training programmes in sexuality can benefit direct care workers in general and older staff more specifically. Implications for training and practice are discussed.
Commentary on “Human rights training: impact on attitudes and knowledge”
- Author:
- KIDD Jo
- Journal article citation:
- Tizard Learning Disability Review, 17(2), 2012, pp.88-91.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This paper seeks to provide a commentary on the previous paper by Michelle Redman et al in this journal issue. Redman investigated the impact of a particular approach to human rights training on the knowledge and attitudes of a group of support staff in the health service. The results suggested that this training had a significant effect on knowledge about human rights but very little effect on attitudes towards human rights. This commentary poses the question as to whether human rights training can have an effect on attitudes towards human rights and, if so, which approach is the most effective. It outlines the distinction between 2 different types of approach to human rights training: one that assumes that the concept of human rights already runs through the work of public service providers; and the other that suggests that human rights training should challenge pre-existing beliefs and assumptions. The commentary suggests that the second of these approaches, the ‘activist’ approach, would go further towards winning hearts and minds. Suggestions on the kind of training needed to change people’s attitudes are provided, and underline the importance of the need for people with learning disabilities to have the space to tell their own stories.
Women and men with intellectual disabilities who sell or trade sex: voices from the professionals
- Authors:
- KUOSMANEN Jari, STARKE Mikaela
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Work in Disability and Rehabilitation, 10(3), July 2011, pp.129-149.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
In this study undertaken in Sweden, the authors explored the knowledge and perceptions of professionals working in the field about people with intellectual disabilities who sell or exchange sexual services. The article introduces the study and includes a brief overview of the background to disability and prostitution in Swedish legislation. 19 professionals from various types of agencies and specialisations (including social workers, psychologists, special education teachers, support volunteers, and care workers) were recruited to participate in 6 focus groups. The discussions were transcribed and analysed, and the article presents and discusses the results, with examples from the focus groups. Different motives and contributing factors were identified for the behaviour, and 2 distinct discourses emerged: people with intellectual disabilities who traded sexual favours were presented as either conscious and autonomous agents or unaware and exploited victims.
Staff beliefs about why people with learning disabilities self-harm: a Q-methodology study
- Authors:
- DICK Katie, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39(3), September 2011, pp.233-242.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Staff beliefs about why people with learning disabilities self-harm are important because they can affect the way that staff respond to the behaviour. Existing research into staff beliefs about self-harm by people with learning disabilities is limited and restricted to forensic services. This study used Q-methodology to explore staff beliefs about why people with learning disabilities self-harm. Participants included 33 staff from community teams and day services for people with learning disabilities. Five viewpoints were identified: self-harm is individual, complex and emotionally meaningful; self-harm is a means to communicate distress; self-harm is difficult to understand but seems to be a way to modify emotional states; self-harm is a result of having learning disabilities and being different; and self-harm is meaningful within relationships. These viewpoints represent the variety of theories and discussions in the literature. It is proposed that some of these viewpoints may result in more helpful responses to self-harm than others. The authors concluded that it would be useful for staff to receive more training about self-harm. This could improve care for people with learning disabilities who self-harm.