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'I do like the subtle touch': interactions between people with learning difficulties and their personal assistants
- Authors:
- WILLIAMS Val, PONTING Lisa, FORD Kerrie
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 24(7), December 2009, pp.815-828.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Direct payments promise to deliver autonomy for disabled people but much would seem to depend on the way the disabled person (the employer) and their support staff (the employees) handle their interactions. There is currently only limited information about how this relationship is played out in real situations. These matters are particularly important for people with learning difficulties, who have routinely been restricted and controlled by their support staff. The authors present an analysis, based on 620 minutes of video material, of the interactions between 14 pairs of people with learning difficulties and their personal assistants in the West of England. The filming covered home-based domestic and social activities and excursions outside the home. The paper examines how difficult tasks, such as giving advice, can be accomplished in ways that people with learning difficulties find acceptable. It is concluded that successful interactions are built on sensitivity to the wishes of the person, on a moment by moment basis. It is necessary that both parties coordinate their body language, humour and timing to demonstrate a close and friendly relationship, but equally one that is both professional and on the terms of the direct payments employer.
What good support is all about
- Authors:
- WILLIAMS Val, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Learning Disability Today, November 2009, pp.36-39.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
'Skills for Support' was a research study conducted between 2005 and 2007 to find out what people with learning disabilities want from their personal assistants or other one-to-one supporters. The research methods used included surveys, individual and group interviews and video sessions of people with learning disabilities interacting with their personal assistants. This article focuses on the final video stage of the project and its practical findings. Five of the key outcomes identified were showing respect, giving choices, being friendly, giving good advice and supporting people to speak up. A resource pack was produced which includes a DVD of extracts from the videos to illustrate the five key themes.
The blurred edges of intellectual disability
- Authors:
- WILLIAMS Val, SWIFT Paul, MASON Victoria
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 30(5), 2015, pp.704-716.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The label of ‘intellectual disability’ can be a very blurred concept, because for those on the borders their label often arises from the interaction of the individual with their environment, from their socio-economic status, and from the social role which they choose to undertake. This paper explores the contested notion of intellectual disability in the context of two people who have been in trouble with the law in England. It contrasts the situation of people who have been protected by best interests decisions under the Mental Capacity Act (England and Wales), with people who are on the ‘borderline’ of having an intellectual disability. Drawing on the notions of ‘interactional’ disability theory, the authors reflect on the shifting, relative nature of intellectual disability, and the need for the law to focus on support needs, rather than on impairment. (Edited publisher abstract)
Money, rights and risks: a scoping review of financial issues for people with learning disabilities in the UK
- Authors:
- WILLIAMS Val, et al
- Publisher:
- Friends Provident Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2007
- Pagination:
- 53p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Dorking
This report reviews financial issues for people with learning disabilities and their families, across the UK. It draws on a wide range of recent and ongoing research in the field of learning disability, as well as three focus groups for 25 people with learning disabilities in different areas of the country and ten individual interviews. There is also some reflection about the issues for financial providers, based on a small sample of interviews, and the report ends with recommendations for practice and further research. Key findings show that many people with learning disabilities had little control of their own resources. They were mostly given ‘pocket money’, which they spent on small non-essential items. People had few opportunities to improve their financial knowledge. Personal incomes were low, and some had taken on credit that they did not understand, and could not afford. The report concludes that those with learning disabilities need planned financial support packages when they move into independent living. They also need safeguards, to ensure minimal financial risk. Family carers and support staff need advice, information and training in offering financial support
'It is time to stop talking and start doing': the views of people with learning disabilities on future research
- Authors:
- MARRIOTT Anna, WILLIAMS Val, TOWNSLEY Ruth
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 7(2), Autumn 2010, pp.132-147.
- Publisher:
- South West Yorkshire Mental Health NHS Trust and University of Huddersfield
A scoping exercise to determine the research priorities for the field of learning disabilities for the next 10 years is described. Specific focus of this paper is on the role of people with learning disabilities in setting this research agenda. A detailed description of the methodology used is given. The first stage included a series of regional workshops involving people with learning disabilities, held in Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds and London which aimed to identify the main issues and problems in the lives of people with learning disabilities. Data from these identified six priority themes: access to health care; getting good support; the right to relationships; housing options; work and personal finance; and inclusion in the community. The literature was then reviewed for published research in these areas and then further workshops were held in all four geographical areas to identify research gaps. A focus group was then held with nine researchers in the field. A summary of the findings in the six priority areas is presented. It is commented that the findings show that it is possible to involve people with learning disabilities in setting a research agenda. Their inclusion provided a perspective that could not be adequately represented by other stakeholder groups. People with learning disabilities were concerned that research has a meaningful impact and can lead to demonstrable improvements in care. In order for this to happen there is a need for widespread dissemination of accessible outputs that reach the relevant stakeholders.
What are friends for
- Authors:
- HESLOP Pauline, WILLIAMS Val, HOADLEY Sally
- Journal article citation:
- Young Minds Magazine, 77, July 2005, pp.16-17.
- Publisher:
- YoungMinds
Young people with both mental health problems and learning disabilities are commonly regarded as doubly disadvantaged. This article reports on a project called Mind the Gap aimed at improving the emotional resilience and mental health support for young people who fall into this category. The project, a collaborative venture at the Norah Fry Research Centre at the University of Bristol carried out from 2002 to 2004, led to the development of the course The Strongest Link. The Strongest Link is run by and for young people with learning disabilities in Somerset. It is directed to prepare the participants for adulthood by encouraging open emotional expression and by getting them to think of ways that they could get help for themselves.
The meaning of ‘choice and control’ for people with intellectual disabilities who are planning their social care and support
- Authors:
- WILLIAMS Val, PORTER Sue
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 30(1), 2017, pp.97-108.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Background: This paper questions consumerist assumptions in current English social care policy and aims to look behind the processes of personalisation to interrogate what ‘choice and control’ means in the lives of a diverse group of people with intellectual disabilities. Methods: Data were from multiple interviews and direct practice recordings with nine people using personal budgets and were analysed using an interpretative approach. Results: Identity, other people and personal budget processes were all important for choice and control. People needed to build confidence in themselves as decision-makers, both through peer support and through joint decisions with trusted others. Conclusions: Practitioners need to take into account the spectrum of ways in which people may make decisions. Action needs to be taken both at the micro level of support interactions and at the macro level, with a clearer articulation of independent living in policy and strategy for people with intellectual disabilities. (Edited publisher abstract)
Where do you want to go next?: critical factors in care planning for people with learning disabilities, and their financial implications
- Authors:
- WILLIAMS Val, BATTLEDAY Suzanne
- Publisher:
- Norah Fry Research Centre
- Publication year:
- 2007
- Pagination:
- 47p., bibliog..
- Place of publication:
- Bristol
This study aimed to explore the factors which are associated with different outcomes of care planning for people with learning disabilities. In particular, it explored the differences for those going into residential care, and those who had a supported living placement, or some other community-based option. It drew upon record searches and care manager interviews for 28 cases from 4 social services departments in the South West of England, and also semi-structured interviews with 12 carers or service users. Ten of the cases had residential outcomes, and 18 had supported living or other outcomes. Amongst the findings were that people who received residential care placements were more likely to have a larger number of recorded support needs, to be amongst the oldest group of service users, not be moving from the family home, not have a person-centred plan taken into account, and to have had previous high levels of supplied support. A number of messages for good practice in care management are given, including the key recommendation to improve the use of tools for working out individual budgets.
Filling the emotional gap at transition: young people with learning difficulties and friendship
- Authors:
- WILLIAMS Val, HESLOP Pauline
- Journal article citation:
- Tizard Learning Disability Review, 11(4), October 2006, pp.28-37.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This article reports on an action research study in Somerset which was funded by the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities. The study followed young people and practitioners in adopting a largely social model of mental health distress. It focused on positive emotional support, and worked with young people themselves to find new ways of tackling these issues. Young people in the study said that the support they most valued was that gained through friendships. A small, self-selecting group of students worked with the project, and they designed and piloted a short course about emotional support for other young people. The findings show that this was effective in helping the young people talk more freely about their feelings, and build their confidence and mutual trust. This article argues that, by developing their own self-problems and take more control over their own lives.
Best interests decisions: professional practices in health and social care
- Authors:
- WILLIAMS Val, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 22(1), 2014, pp.78-86.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This paper reports on data collected in 2011 from a national study about the operation of the best interests principle, a key feature of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 for England and Wales. Four contrasting sample sites were selected, in which National Health Service trusts, social care and other organisations were recruited to participate. A multimethod design was followed, including an online survey with 385 participants, followed by qualitative research through a telephone survey of 68 participants, and face-to-face semi-structured interviews following up 25 best interests cases, with different perspectives on the process in 12 of those cases. This article reports the qualitative findings. The findings indicate that the MCA was successful in providing a structure for these practitioners, and that the five principles of the MCA were in general adhered to. A variety of perceived risks led to best interests processes being undertaken, and a typical scenario was for a period of hospitalisation or ill health to trigger a best interests decision process about a social care and or a life decision. The study supported previous research in finding the notion of capacity the most difficult aspect of the MCA, and it provides evidence of some specific capacity assessment practices, including problematic ones relating to ‘insight’. Best interests decisions were often made by consensus, with practitioners taking on different roles within the process. Meetings played a key part, but other ways of involving people lacking capacity and significant others were also important. It was recommended that the issues highlighted in this research could be clarified further in the Code of Practice, or within risk guidance. (Edited publisher abstract)