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Why couldn’t I stop her? Self injury: the views of staff and clients in a medium secure unit
- Authors:
- DUPEROUZEL Helen, FISH Rebecca
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 36(1), March 2008, pp.59-65.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This paper is the synthesis of two pre-existing studies. It details the experiences of nine people with mild/moderate learning disabilities who self injure, and those who work with them. At the time of this study the participants were living and working in a medium secure unit at Calderstones NHS Trust in Lancashire. A phenomenological approach was used, and during in-depth interviews, the participants gave rich descriptions of their experiences of self injury. The descriptions that emerged from the interviews detailed four main themes: understanding, communication, control and blame.
First-hand experience of accessible information
- Author:
- MANDER Clare
- Journal article citation:
- Tizard Learning Disability Review, 20(2), 2015, pp.80-87.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: This purpose of this paper is to report on primary research which investigated the first-hand experience of producing and implementing accessible information (AI). Design/methodology/approach: In total, 18 participants were recruited for a qualitative scoping exercise from four distinct sampling groups: adults with learning disabilities; specialist learning disability service staff; mainstream NHS and local authority staff; and speech and language therapists. Each participant took part in a semi-structured focus group or interview which explored their range of skills, knowledge and attitudes relating to AI. Findings: Framework approach to thematic analysis led to three main classifications: ideology of AI, AI practice and the outcomes of delivering AI. First-hand experience varied across the stakeholders, highlighting differences in the operationalisation of national policies and legislation. Originality/value: The data supported the notion of AI as a multifaceted process; although the practice of delivering accessible resources appeared less advanced than accessible resource production. (Publisher abstract)
Communication supports in residential services for people with an intellectual disability
- Authors:
- DALTON Caroline, SWEENEY John
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 41(1), 2013, pp.22-30.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study explores front-line support staff knowledge and perceptions of how people with intellectual disability residing in residential services are supported to communicate effectively. It aimed to discover whether staff had the knowledge and skills to communicate effectively with service users and means by which front-line staff ensured the rights of service users to communicate were upheld. Participants (n = 138) drawn from a voluntary organisation in Southern Ireland completed a self-report questionnaire. Participants were made up of staff nurses, care staff and some nurse managers. Staff worked in large residential settings, group home settings, day community hostels, with the smallest number working in semi-independent settings. Support staff recognise that facilitating people with an intellectual disability to communicate is an important part of their role. Support staff indicate that when the importance of supporting communication is recognised and prioritised, it has a marked impact on the quality of life of people availing of residential services. However, front-line staff indicate that they do not always have the knowledge or resources to provide such supports. Lack of specialist support services such as speech and language therapists is identified as a constraint. It is suggested that an organization-wide commitment is required across front-line services to ensure that the right of people with an intellectual disability to communicate is upheld. (Edited publisher abstract)
Pain in people with learning disabilities in residential settings: the need for change
- Authors:
- BEACROFT Monica, DODD Karen
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38(3), September 2010, pp.201-209.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Many people with learning disabilities find it difficult to communicate effectively that they are in pain or how they are feeling. This audit investigated residential staff beliefs around pain thresholds, and the strategies they adopt to recognise and manage pain in people with learning disabilities. A structured interview was held with 58 staff from 33 residential homes and supported living services across Surrey. The results demonstrated that pain is not being effectively recognised or managed by residential staff, and that people with learning disabilities are not getting timely and appropriate medication for their pain. Some staff still believed that people with learning disabilities have a higher pain threshold than people without a learning disability, and let this belief affect how they manage pain. The results highlighted the need for training for staff in how to recognise and manage pain, as well as the need for appropriate pain recognition tools and communication aids to be utilised to support people with learning disabilities to be able to communicate their pain to others. It also indicated the need for better communication between staff and other services that the person with learning disabilities accesses.
Acting against discrimination
- Author:
- KINRADE Steve
- Journal article citation:
- Professional Nurse, 18(12), August 2003, pp.714-715.
- Publisher:
- Emap Healthcare
Reports on a survey which interviewed people with a variety of disabilities on their experiences in hospital. Results revealed that their needs were often not met and that they felt staff had negative views of disabled people.
I want to tell you a story
- Author:
- BENN Melissa
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 3.6.99, 1999, p.14.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
Argues that empowering people with learning difficulties is not about giving them what we think they need but about listening to what they have to say about their lives, feelings and experiences.
Hospital experiences of older people with intellectual disability: responses of group home staff and family members
- Authors:
- WEBBER Ruth, BOWERS Barbara, BIGBY Christine
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 35(3), September 2010, pp.155-164.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
A subset of data from a longitudinal study was used to examine perspectives of group home staff and family members concerning hospital experiences of group home residents with intellectual disabilities, including the strategies they used to support residents while in hospital. Focus was on 17 residents, aged 49 to 81 years at first interview, living in group homes in Victoria, who were tracked prospectively over 3 years. A total of 17 family members, 16 house supervisors, 11 accommodation program managers, and 11 staff in aged care facilities were interviewed. Twelve residents had been hospitalised at least once during the study and all had been hospitalised within the last 5 years. Staff and family reported poor support and treatment of the residents while in hospital. All positive experiences occurred in hospitals that had clear policies, resources and systems in place to address the special needs of people with an intellectual disability. Several strategies were used by staff and family members to improve the hospital experience. These included spending as much time as possible in the hospital; preparing information packages to prepare the resident for the hospital stay; attempting to partner with hospital staff; and taking on an advocacy role. Ageing of the family members and staffing implications for group homes complicated efforts to improve hospital experiences. The authors conclude that the current absence of systems to accommodate the special needs of people with intellectual disability in hospital settings has significant consequences for group homes, family members, hospital staff and residents.
A communication training programme for residential staff working with adults with challenging behaviour: pilot data on intervention effects
- Authors:
- SMIDT Andy, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 20(1), January 2007, pp.16-29.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Challenging behaviour often serves a communicative function. It therefore stands to reason that the residential staff working in developmental disability services require training to foster appropriate communicative interactions with adults with challenging behaviour. Eighteen members of staff working in three residential services in Australia participated in a 4 week communication training programme. The programme focused on staff attitudes to and beliefs about challenging behaviour, communicative interactions between staff and residents and working as a team. Objective measurements were made of the effects of the training programme on staff use of augmentative and alternative communication, praise and use of inappropriate language in a multiple-baseline design across three organizations. Changes in the rate of challenging behaviours among the residents were also evaluated. As staff's use of AAC and praise increased, and inappropriate language decreased, there was some concomitant decrease in residents' levels of challenging behaviour; however, these results were not sustained in the long-term. This pilot data suggest that an approach to staff training based on modifying attitudes and beliefs is potentially beneficial to both staff and residents.
Experimental effects of manipulating attributional information about challenging behaviour
- Authors:
- NOONE Stephen J., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 16(4), December 2003, pp.295-301.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The informal staff culture in intellectual disability services has been proposed as a significant factor determining staff perceptions of, and responses towards, challenging behaviours. However, research to date has been exclusively descriptive. Methods An experimental analogue of one potentially salient aspect of staff informal culture, the causal language used to describe challenging behaviours, was developed. Naïve participants (N = 84 students) rated attributional dimensions and optimism after viewing a video of aggressive behaviour. Participants were exposed to vignettes in which information about the behaviour's controllability and stability was manipulated prior to viewing the video. Results Controllability and stability manipulations affected later perception of dimensions of causal attributions (e.g. behaviour presented as controllable was rated as caused by factors more likely to be internal to the depicted client), and optimism (e.g. behaviour presented as stable was associated with a less positive perception of potential for change). Conclusion Staff talk in intellectual disability services, especially language communicating causal information, is likely to affect perceptions of subsequent incidents of challenging behaviours. This may have important implications for the treatment and assessment of challenging behaviour. Further research is needed to replicate and extend the findings of this study and also to contribute to the development of external validity.