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Just getting on with it: a record of service about relationships and disability
- Author:
- HOLDEN Craig
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work with Groups, 30(1), 2007, pp.29-44.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Many individuals living with developmental disabilities including mental retardation experience feelings of frustration and a sense of loss in their efforts to find a partner. This paper presents and illustrates the Record of Service (ROS) as a tool for group worker self-reflection, skill building, and professional development. The ROS is used to examine three group meetings where obstacles to forming relationships are addressed. Interventions, practice modifications, and opportunities for growth are discussed. The strengths and capacities of developmentally disabled group members are highlighted. Readers are invited to “listen in” to a group worker's (the author) self-reflections on his work with this population and to consider the Record of Service structure, presented herein, as a tool for reflecting on one's group work. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Voices talk, hands write: sustaining community publishing with people with learning difficulties
- Author:
- POLLARD Nick
- Journal article citation:
- Groupwork, 17(2), 2007, pp.51-73.
- Publisher:
- Whiting and Birch
People with learning difficulties are generally a marginalised section of the community whose care environment often segregates them from other people. One way of broaching this invisibility is by developing a writing and publishing group which can present at community events and may be a means of educating others. However, such groups can be difficult to sustain. This article explores the origin and continuing development of a community publishing project with people with learning difficulties in Grimsby. Taking account of the difficulties of recording community based action, it reviews the outcomes 3 years after the initial set up project ceased.
Experiences of running an anxiety management group for people with a learning disability using a cognitive behavioural intervention
- Authors:
- DOUGLASS Sarah, PALMER Katherine, O'CONNOR Chris
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35(4), December 2007, pp.245-252.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
An anxiety management group utilizing a cognitive behavioural intervention, of 12 weeks duration, for six people with mild to moderate learning disabilities is described. A number of techniques to assist in developing clients’ understanding of their anxiety, cognitive and behavioural coping strategies and maximizing generalizability of skills learnt were implemented. Outcome measures demonstrated that two participants showed a clinically significant reduction in anxiety levels. Qualitative feedback from both participants and carers suggested that all group members developed coping strategies. Measures also indicated that carers demonstrated a better understanding of the individual's difficulties and were able to support them more effectively. Adopting a cognitive behavioural approach proved valuable and recommendations for future interventions are made.
Low self-esteem: group cognitive behaviour therapy
- Authors:
- WHELAN Anne, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35(2), June 2007, pp.125-130.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This article describes a self-esteem cognitive behavioural therapy group run with adults with learning disabilities. The aim is to show how a group of this nature can be organized and run, using theory to inform practice. An introduction to the concept of self esteem will be given and then explored in relation to adults with learning disabilities. Details of the group, including how people were selected, will then be discussed. Some basic background information on group members and a cognitive behavioural formulation will follow. Then contents of sessions and the use of an adapted outcome measure will be mentioned, followed by some final reflections on the group.
The delivery of a survivors’ group for learning disabled women with significant learning disabilities who have been sexually abused
- Authors:
- PECKHAM Nicholas Guy, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35(4), December 2007, pp.236-244.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This paper reports on the development and delivery of an effective 20-week Survivors' Group pilot for seven female survivors of sexual abuse with a significant learning disability and a separate Educational support Group for their carers.
Evaluating a survivors group pilot for women with significant intellectual disabilities who have been sexually abused
- Authors:
- PECKHAM Nicholas Guy, HOWLETT Susan, CORBETT Alan
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 20(4), July 2007, pp.308-322.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Sexual abuse has been associated with trauma, low self-esteem, anger, depression and challenging behaviours. This pilot study builds on a small published literature by evaluating a survivors group (SG) for women with an intellectual disability and an educational support group (ESG) for their carers. The SG was delivered weekly over 5 months for 20 sessions and the ESG ran concurrently for their seven carers in a separate room within the same community-based building. Participants were helped to build trust and rapport, provided with education about sexual abuse designed for their level of ability, and helped to reprocess the trauma of their sexual abuse. Both the SG and the ESG were evaluated using a repeated-measures design (double baseline, mid-treatment, post-treatment and follow up), to see whether there was any improvement in relevant clinical dependent variables associated with the consequences of sexual abuse (i.e. trauma, self-esteem, anger, depression and challenging behaviour). Improvements occurred in sexual knowledge, trauma and depression. Neither self-esteem nor anger improved for most of the SG and challenging behaviour worsened at first before improving. The SG seemed to be successful in improving sexual knowledge and in reducing trauma and depression, although challenging behaviours worsened at first before improving. There is a need for more sexual abuse/sexual education groups for men and women with intellectual disabilities.
Parents Plus Programme I: evaluation of its effectiveness for pre-school children with developmental disabilities and behavioural problems
- Authors:
- QUINN Mark, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 20(4), July 2007, pp.345-359.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Parents Plus programme with families of pre-school children with developmental disabilities and significant behavioural problems in the Irish health service. The Parents Plus programme is a group-based parent training package involving video modelling, which was designed to be effective for children with conduct problems, but without developmental disabilities. The research conducted pre- and post-treatment assessments with 22 treated cases and 19 waiting-list controls with a protocol that included the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, the Child Behaviour Checklist, the General Health Questionnaire-12, the Kansas Parental Satisfaction Scale, the Family Assessment Device, the Perceived Social Support Scale, the Family Inventory of Life Events and Changes, the Parenting Stress Index and the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress. Following the treatment, a comparison of treatment and control group means showed that the treated group showed better adjustment on the total difficulties scale of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. These gains were maintained at 10-month follow-up. Fifty per cent of treated cases showed clinically significant improvement and 14% showed reliable change on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The treatment group reported a high level of satisfaction with the Parents Plus programme and showed significant goal attainment after treatment and at follow-up. For some families of pre-school children with developmental disabilities and significant behavioural problems, the Parents Plus programme is an effective intervention and may be incorporated into routine early intervention clinics in the Irish health service.