Search results for ‘Subject term:"learning disabilities"’ Sort:
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The illusion of power
- Author:
- RIDDINGTON Carol
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 1.3.07, 2007, pp.32-33.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
It is now almost six years since the establishment of learning disability partnership boards. Research has found that the partnership between public sector managers and lay members is not on equal terms as defined in the white paper Valuing People. Where primary care trusts cascade learning disability development funding to partnership boards it is possible to provide opportunities for people with learning disabilities to allocate money to enable "bottom up" initiatives to be supported.
Caregivers as managers of subjective wellbeing: a homeostatic perspective
- Author:
- CUMMINS Robert A.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 18(4), December 2005, pp.335-344.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This paper proposes that the adequacy of service delivery and caregiving to people who are disabled should be assessed using two criteria. One is the objective circumstance of living, which should be at a standard acceptable to the community at large. The other is a level of subjective wellbeing (SWB) within the normal range. This latter criterion is based on an understanding that SWB is homeostatically managed to lie normally within a narrow range of values. Results found that people who have a disability are more likely than usual to have a fragile homeostatic system because of the additional life challenges imposed by their disability. It concludes that the role of a caregiver is to provide resources and protection against strong threats to homeostasis, thereby ensuring that the person in their care has a normal-range level of SWB.
Asian community groups campaign for equal rights
- Author:
- McINTYRE Peter
- Journal article citation:
- Viewpoint, 56, March 2001, p.3.
- Publisher:
- Mencap/Gateway
Looks at the work of the Asian Disability Network who are campaigning for the rights of people with learning difficulties and their carers.
Shared Care Scotland inspiring breaks programme
- Author:
- SHARED CARE SCOTLAND
- Publisher:
- Shared Care Scotland
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 15p.
- Place of publication:
- Dunfermline
Shared Care Scotland embarked on a Scotland-wide programme of local Inspiring Breaks workshops to help individuals with support needs and unpaid carers to be more actively involved in shaping the short break and respite care services they receive. One goal of the workshops was to provide service users and carers with the information, skills and confidence they need to work with health and social care to determine the short break support they want. The workshops were delivered with the involvement of Peer Facilitators who were themselves living with a long term condition, or caring for someone with one. Nineteen workshops were delivered to a total of 240 people between October 2010 and June 2011, including one workshop specifically for carers of people with mental health problems and one for young carers. This report describes the process of delivering the Inspiring Breaks programme, learning from the programme, feedback from both participants and peer-facilitators, and ideas for the future. The feedback from participants and peer-facilitators demonstrates that the workshops were on the whole a valuable experience for those involved. Involving local authorities in the programme has encouraged them to think more broadly about how they can open up more flexible short break opportunities. Future plans, building on the findings of these workshops, are discussed.
Making complaints work for people with learning disabilities
- Author:
- THURMAN Sue
- Publisher:
- British Institute of Learning Disabilities
- Publication year:
- 2009
- Pagination:
- 21p.
- Place of publication:
- Kidderminster
Everyone has the right to complain; being denied access to complaints procedures may well be considered a breach of the Human Rights Act. This guide explains the need for an open, responsive culture and a willingness to listen in order to ensure that people with learning disabilities can be confident their complaints and comments will be listened to and acted upon.
From biscuits to boyfriends: the ramifications of choice for people with learning disabilities
- Authors:
- SMYTH Catherine M., BELL Dorothy
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 34(4), December 2006, pp.227-236.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Choice plays an important role in a person's quality of life. This paper looks at the issue of choice for people with learning disabilities. It considers the extent to which people with learning disabilities are able to choose and are provided with real choices. It also covers the extent to which true choice may or may not be advantageous for some people with learning disabilities. By concentrating particularly on the issue of choice about food and diet, this paper indicates how seemingly simplistic choices, such as decisions over food consumed, can cause major health problems for the decision-maker and hence be a more complex and vital decision than at times it is perceived to be. Additionally, this paper focuses on important factors surrounding choice for people with learning disabilities that previous research may have overlooked. One such factor is how past experience affects the decision-making process. Another, is the issue of the range of choice that is possible, relative to a person's cognitive ability to be fully aware of this range. In particular, this paper emphasizes the important role of the carer. It addresses the impact which the carer's own, perhaps unconscious personal choices, beliefs and ideologies may have on the 'choices' made by people with learning disabilities, and more worryingly, on the 'choices' offered to them. This paper highlights problems with current research into the area of choice for people with learning disabilities and provides suggestions for future study.
Adults with a learning disability living with elderly carers talk about planning for the future: aspirations and concerns
- Authors:
- BOWEY Laura, McGLAUGHLIN Alex
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 35(8), December 2005, pp.1377-1392.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
The majority of adults with a learning disability live with family carers, many of whom are ageing and have support needs of their own. Planning for the future thus becomes the key to preventing a crisis situation when family care is no longer viable because of death or ill health. Existing knowledge and practice are largely based upon the perspective of professionals and carers. This study explores the views, aspirations and concerns of adults with a learning disability, about living at home and planning for the future. Findings show that participants were very aware of the need for alternative housing or support in the future and had clear preferences about their future options. However, they also showed extensive concern for their family carers and this often impacted on their willingness to plan for the future or to move to alternative housing. Their demonstrable awareness of the inevitable death or ill health of family carers, and willingness to engage with the implications, emphasize the importance of involving adults with a learning disability in planning for their future, as well as providing them with bereavement support.
Spirituality and the lives of people with learning disabilities
- Author:
- SWINTON John
- Journal article citation:
- Tizard Learning Disability Review, 7(4), October 2002, pp.29-35.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Reports on a project to explore some significant aspects of the 'forgotten dimension' of spirituality and to illustrate that available research evidence and the experiences of people with learning disabilities suggest it is an aspect of life which should be taken seriously. Offers some insights to enable service providers to begin to understand and incorporate spirituality into lives of people with learning disabilities.
Towards the creative management of risk: perceptions practices and policies
- Authors:
- ALASZEWSKI Andy, ALASZEWSKI Helen
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30(2), June 2002, pp.56-62.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This present article examines the importance of risk when supporting individuals with learning disabilities. Risk is an important issue in the provision of support. Service users saw risk primarily in terms of hazards. Carers were concerned about hazards and harm, but recognised the need for risk-taking. Professionals emphasized the importance of reasonable risk-taking. Agencies also recognised the importance of risk management, and most had or were developing risk policies. However, most of these policies are based on a restricted approach to risk which emphasizes hazard assessment, and health and safety issues.
Professional ideology and learning disability: an analysis of internal conflict
- Author:
- DEELEY Susan
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 17(1), January 2002, pp.19-33.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Normalisation is the guiding principle for professionals who work with people with learning disabilities. However, professionals hold varying degrees of adherence to this prevailing orthodoxy. In addition, some professionals openly dispute its merits and adopt a more paternalistic perspective of people with learning disabilities. These contradictory views create tension and potential conflict between professionals. This article explores the ideological differences between professionals who follow the prevailing orthodoxy, identified in the study as 'normalisers', and professionals who adhere to a superseded ideology, identified as 'paternalists'. Similar to the problematic relationship between parents and professionals, a solution to the internal conflict of professionals may also be found in seeking a shared ideology of care.