Search results for ‘Subject term:"learning disabilities"’ Sort:
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Assessing fitness to plead in Scotland's learning disabled
- Authors:
- BREWSTER Eleanor, WILLOX Elizabeth G., HAUT Fabian
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology (The), 19(4), December 2008, pp.597-602.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The authors reviewed 139 pre-trial psychiatric court reports from learning disability services within Scotland to consider the appropriate application of case law in determining fitness to plead. Of the reports in the sample, 40% correctly applied the test. Fitness to plead was not discussed at all in 9.3%. Almost 8% of the sample were assessed as unfit to plead, with all of this sub-group having had both criteria considered to determine their fitness to plead. This sub-group all had a mild or moderate learning disability with only one dual diagnosis. This would seem to indicate that evidence of a learning disability is in itself sufficient to require consideration of the accused's fitness to plead as directed by Scottish case law.
Personality disorder and offending in people with learning disabilities
- Author:
- TORR Jenny
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Mental Health and Learning Disabilities, 2(1), March 2008, pp.4-10.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This article reviews the literature on personality disorder in offenders with learning disabilities, using Medline, PsychoInfo and CINAHL databases, and search terms ‘offending’, ‘personality disorder and intellectual disabilities’, ‘learning disabilities’ and related terms. Methods of defining offending population, personality disorder and learning disabilities vary greatly, and few studies focus specifically on personality disorder, learning disability and offending. The definition of learning disability often encompasses both borderline learning disability and low average intelligence. Personality disorder, especially anti-social personality disorder, is prevalent in offenders with learning difficulties, but less than in the general population, and is associated with higher levels of security and poorer outcomes. The study concludes that there is a continuum of offenders with borderlines and mild learning disabilities, reflected in learning disability forensic services.
The first three years of community forensic service for people with a learning disability
- Authors:
- BENTON Carl, ROY Ashok
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Forensic Practice, 10(2), June 2008, pp.4-12.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This paper reports on the first three years of a community forensic team in Birmingham working with individuals with learning disabilities who have offended or are at risk of doing so. Using an interprofessional model, the team provided assessment, intervention and management, enabling individuals to live in the least restrictive environment. There were 113 referrals, the majority (94%) of whom were males. Only 26 had been convicted. The problems this raised for the team are discussed, along with the cost-effectiveness, impact on admission rates and benefits of providing such a service. Two case scenarios are presented to highlight some of the issues encountered by the team.
Prisoners' voices: experiences of the criminal justice system by prisoners with learning disabilities and difficulties
- Author:
- TALBOT Jenny
- Publisher:
- Prison Reform Trust
- Publication year:
- 2008
- Pagination:
- 102p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
For the past three years No One Knows has been researching people with learning disabilities and learning difficulties who enter the criminal justice system in the UK, their experiences as they travel through it and in particular the effect their impairments have on their ability to cope with the criminal justice process. This study hears directly from prisoners themselves. The report is in four parts: part one describes the aims of the study and the methods used. Prisoners were identified by prison staff and 173 agreed to be interviewed, screening results suggested that 34 prisoners had possible learning or borderline learning disabilities. A further 73 prisoners were identified as also likely to experience difficulties with verbal comprehension. Part two of the report tells of prisoners’ experiences of the criminal justice system, their lives immediately before they were arrested and aspirations for the future. Part three discusses five overarching themes from the three year No One Knows programme: disability discrimination and possible human rights abuses; knowing who has learning disabilities or difficulties; implications for the criminal justice system; a needs led approach: collaborative multi-agency working; and workforce development. Part four draws on the full three year No One Knows programme to make recommendations for change.
Measuring psychological change in offenders with intellectual disabilities and alcohol misuse using repertory grids: two case examples
- Author:
- MASON Jonathan
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Forensic Practice, 10(4), December 2008, pp.37-44.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Measuring psychological change in offenders with intellectual disabilities undergoing psychological therapy presents the clinician with a variety of challenges. Repertory grids - a structured interview procedure based on Kelly's (1955) theory - have shown to be an adaptable, sensitive, reliable and valid measure of psychological change. Two case examples are used to show how repertory grids can be used to assess the treatment gains made by patients undergoing different (though similar) psychological interventions aimed at reducing alcohol misuse.
The assessment and treatment of a man with mild learning disability, violent behaviour and chronic low self-esteem: a case study
- Authors:
- BISHOP Amanda J., HENRY Jayne C.
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Mental Health and Learning Disabilities, 2(1), March 2008, pp.38-44.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
The following case study describes the assessment, formulation and treatment of a man with mild learning disabilities and a history of violent behaviour. Following several years of offence-related work, identification of chronic low self-esteem provided an alternative approach to addressing the risk of violence by treatment based on the cognitive model of low self-esteem. Global self-esteem and fear of negative evaluation were assessed at baseline, middle and end of treatment and at one-month follow-up. Although scores improved over the course of 23 sessions and were maintained at one-month follow-up, the change was minimal and unlikely to be clinically significant. However, the client reported benefits from therapy and there were observable positive behaviour changes. Discharge was facilitated from secure services to supported living in the community. The results from this case study show that, with adaption, cognitive behavioural therapy for low self-esteem may successfully be applied to people with mild learning disabilities. Therapy to address issues underlying offending behaviour is often required in addition to offending behaviour programmes in order to reduce the risk of re-offending.