Search results for ‘Subject term:"learning disabilities"’ Sort:
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The estimated prevalence of visual impairment among people with learning disabilities in the UK
- Authors:
- EMERSON Eric, ROBERTSON Janet
- Publisher:
- Public Health England
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 35p.
- Place of publication:
- London
It has been known for some time that visual impairments are more common among people with learning disabilities, especially people with more severe learning disabilities, and that the presence of visual impairments can significantly impair the independence and quality of life of people with learning disabilities. The aim of this report is to estimate how many people with learning disabilities in the UK are likely to have visual impairments. The report suggests that, at present, approximately 50,000 people with learning disabilities who are known to services in the UK have visual impairment. An additional 15,000 are blind. Whilst most children with learning disabilities are known to services, not all adults with learning disabilities are known to adult health or social care learning disabilities services – it is estimated that there may be an additional 44,000 adults with learning disabilities and visual impairment and 11,000 with learning disabilities and blindness. It is estimated that all of these figures will rise by approximately 0.5% each year over the next two decades.
A policy that is failing vulnerable people
- Authors:
- ROBERTSON Janet, EMERSON Eric
- Journal article citation:
- Community Living, 22(2), 2008, pp.22-23.
- Publisher:
- Hexagon Publishing
A recently published knowledge review by SCIE found that placing people way from their families and communities to which they belong is still a widespread practice by authorities and means that thousands of vulnerable people are not receiving the personalised and good quality support. The authors summarise the findings of the review.
Health checks for people with learning disabilities: a systematic review of evidence
- Authors:
- ROBERTSON Janet, ROBERTS Hazel, EMERSON Eric
- Publisher:
- Improving Health and Lives: Learning Disabilities Observatory
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 55p.
- Place of publication:
- Stockton-on-Tees
A total of 38 peer reviewed articles published in English between 1989 and 2010 were included in this systematic review. Most were based on studies conducted in the United Kingdom. The majority of the studies looked at the outcome of a single health check; only three publications were based on randomized controlled trials. The content of the health checks varied widely and they were conducted in a variety of settings. It was common for the health check to be carried out by a general practitioner. The results of the studies indicated that introduction of health checks for people with learning disabilities typically leads to the detection of unmet, unrecognised and potentially treatable health conditions (including serious and life threatening conditions such as cancer, heart disease and dementia); and targeted actions to address health needs. Few studies investigated the extent to which the provision of health checks leads to short, medium or long term changes in health status and the authors emphasise the importance of this provision. The authors conclude that, given the specific difficulties faced by people with learning disabilities targeted health checks should be considered to constitute an effective and important adjustment to the operation of primary health care services in the UK. Areas for future research are outlined.
Participation in sports by people with intellectual disabilities in England: a brief report
- Authors:
- ROBERTSON Janet, EMERSON Eric
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 23(6), November 2010, pp.616-622.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Sports participation has often been linked to a range of physical, social and mental health benefits. However, little is known about the extent to which people with intellectual disabilities take part in sports. This study investigated participation in sports and factors associated with participation by people with intellectual disabilities in England. Data on participation in sports and measures of personal characteristics, living situation, social participation, and socioeconomic status associated with participation were analysed based on a sample of 2,784 people with intellectual disabilities in England. Findings revealed that, overall, 41% of participants had taken part in sports in the past month, most of whom had enjoyed it. Of those who did not take part, 34% said they would like to. Participation in sport was associated with some personal characteristics but not with support needs. It was also associated with indicators of socioeconomic status. The authors concluded that interventions to increase participation in sports by people with intellectual disabilities may make a significant contribution to improving their general health and well-being.
The mental health needs of children and adolescents with learning disabilities in Manchester: results of a city-wide survey
- Authors:
- EMERSON Eric, ROBERTSON Janet
- Publisher:
- University of Lancaster. Institute for Health Research
- Publication year:
- 2002
- Pagination:
- 20p.
- Place of publication:
- Manchester
Just under half of all school-age children with learning difficulties in Manchester also have significant mental health needs. Significant levels of unmet mental health need were more common among children who were more delayed in the area of communication and children who had difficulty seeing. Just under half of the informal carers (primarily mothers) of children with learning difficulties in Manchester also have significant mental health needs. Significant levels of unmet mental health need were more common among carers who were bringing up a child who had significant mental health problems or a child who was more delayed in communicating, belonged to a South Asian minority ethnic community or lived in central Manchester. Specialised services for children with mental health needs only reached a minority of children in need.
Future demand for services for young adults with learning disabilities from South Asian and black communities in Birmingham
- Authors:
- EMERSON Eric, ROBERTSON Janet
- Publisher:
- University of Lancaster. Institute for Health Research
- Publication year:
- 2001
- Pagination:
- 61p.
- Place of publication:
- Lancaster
South Asian families supporting a child or adult with learning disabilities at home often do so in the face of considerable social and economic adversity. Poverty and poor housing are endemic. South Asian carers receive little support from outside of their immediate family. Two thirds of carers receive no help at all with care from either their own or their spouse’s family. Semi-formal supports such as Parent Support Groups, Social Groups, and Temples or Mosques, play a very small role as a source of support for carers. Carers face considerable difficulties in getting access to specialist support services.
Prevention and social care for adults with learning disabilities
- Authors:
- EMERSON Eric, HATTON Chris, ROBERTSON Janet
- Publisher:
- NIHR School for Social Care Research
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 25p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
Prevention seeks to eliminate or reduce need, and the current UK preventative agenda focuses on encouraging people to have healthy and active lifestyles and supporting people when a care need first arises to stop problems escalating. The aim of this review was to explore the issue of prevention in relation to adult social care services for people with learning disabilities, looking in particular at options for preventative actions, implications for adult social care practice, and possibilities for modelling the consequences of preventative strategies. It discusses what prevention is, ethical and ideological issues, primary prevention of learning disabilities (including screening and addressing environmental causes) and of the need for adult social care services among people with learning disabilities, and secondary prevention of learning disabilities (through early intervention) and of the need for adult social care services among people with learning disabilities. Key research questions for primary and secondary prevention are identified. The paper concludes that a plausible case can be made for the viability and potential effectiveness of primary and secondary prevention of learning disabilities and of the need for social care support among people with learning disabilities, and that the vast majority of the options for prevention involve altering the social and environmental context in which children grow up.
The association between area-level indicators of social deprivation and the emotional and behavioural needs of Black and South Asian children with intellectual disabilities in a deprived urban environment
- Authors:
- EMERSON Eric, ROBERTSON Janet, WOOD Justin
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 20(5), September 2007, pp.420-429.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study used a cross-sectional survey of teacher-reported emotional and behavioural needs among 386 South Asian children and 118 Black children in a deprived urban area in Birmingham, England. The results suggested that: (i) teachers reported higher rates of emotional and behavioural needs among Black (when compared with South Asian) children; (ii) increased rates of emotional and behavioural needs were generally associated with older child age, lower child ability, the absence of sensory impairments and male gender; and (iii) neighbourhood deprivation was associated with variation in emotional and behavioural need differently for the two ethnic groups. For Black children, increased deprivation was associated with increased need. However, for South Asian children increased deprivation was associated with decreased need. Results are discussed in relation to ‘group density effects’ which may reflect the potentially moderating effects of social support on the relationship between socioeconomic deprivation and mental health.
Levels of psychological distress experienced by family carers of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities in an urban conurbation
- Authors:
- EMERSON Eric, ROBERTSON Janet, WOOD Justin
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 17(1), June 2004, pp.77-84.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The aim of the present study was to identify factors associated with the level of psychological distress reported by family carers of children with intellectual disability living in a large urban conurbation. Information was collected by postal questionnaire (or interview for family carers who did not have English as their first language) from the family carers of 408 children with intellectual disability (31% of all children within the area administratively identified as having an intellectual disability). Results indicated that 47% of primary carers scored above the threshold for psychological distress on the GHQ and that scoring above the threshold was strongly related to the emotional and behavioural needs of the index child and South-Asian ethnicity and moderately associated with the severity of the child's delay in communication. The rates of psychological distress (47% overall, 70% among South-Asian carers) were markedly higher than that found in previous studies of carers supporting a child with intellectual disabilities. It is suggested that these elevated rates of psychological distress may be mediated by socio-economic deprivation.