Search results for ‘Subject term:"learning disabilities"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 10 of 14
Resettlement of individuals with learning disabilities into community care: a risk audit
- Authors:
- ELLIS Roger, HOGARD Elaine, SINES David
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 17(3), 2013, pp.252-264.
- Publisher:
- Sage
- Place of publication:
- London
This article describes a risk audit carried out on the support provided for 36 people with profound learning disabilities who had been resettled from hospital care to supported housing. The risks were those factors identified in the literature as associated with deleterious effects on quality of life. The audit was carried out with a specially designed tool that covered 24 possible risks and involved a support worker familiar with the service user choosing the most appropriate statement regarding each risk. Their judgements were verified by care managers and social needs assessors. Whilst one or more risks were identified for 32 of the 36 service users, the overall result showed relatively low risks for the group as a whole with 62 incidences (7%) from a possible 864, which nevertheless highlighted several areas that needed attention. The results of the audit have led to action plans for the provision and for the individual service users for whom risks were identified. (Publisher abstract)
Providing forensic community services for people with learning disabilities
- Authors:
- DINANI Shamim, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Learning Disabilities and Offending Behaviour, 1(1), April 2010, pp.58-63.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
The Avon Forensic Community Learning Disabilities Team, formed in 2000, was developed with the aim of identifying those who had convictions or allegations of offending made against them or were as risk of offending and, where possible, to divert them to community settings by providing therapeutic interventions and support. This team attempted to avoid inappropriate imprisonment or admission to out-of-area units by providing specialist assessment and intervention. This article reports on the first eight years of this team. The authors give an overview of current research and government guidance regarding the prevalence, care pathway and treatment of people with learning disabilities who offend, and describe the role and function of the community forensic team. An analysis of referrals to the service is given. The authors reflect on the frustrations as well as the achievements associated with providing this service. Implications for practice include: early identification of people with learning disabilities in the criminal justice system; community teams developing awareness, skills and knowledge by working with specialist teams; teams delivering assessment and treatment in community settings, bypassing inpatient treatment; improved links with the criminal justice system results in increased referrals of people not previously known to have learning difficulties.
Breaking the cycle: better help for people with learning disabilities at risk of committing offences: a framework for the north west
- Author:
- NORTH WEST TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT TEAM
- Publisher:
- North West Training and Development Team
- Publication year:
- 2005
- Pagination:
- 77p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Accrington
Local services are struggling to meet the needs of people with learning disabilities who are at risk of offending, due to problems with commissioning strategies, inadequate or poorly targeted resources, variable staff competence (with these service users) in ordinary learning disabilities services, insufficient cross-agency coordination (eg. between the CJS, mental health services and CLDTs), insufficient community-based specialist services and a shortage of staff training. People with learning disabilities at risk of offending usually have moderate, mild or borderline disabilities. They frequently have challenging behaviour, additional physical or mental health needs and/or autism. Often their family background is one of chaos, deprivation, abuse and neglect. Usually they have been known to services during childhood but some may lose touch with services for a while when they leave school.
Falling through the gap
- Author:
- THOMPSON Audrey
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 30.3.00, 2000, pp.20-21.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
Clients whose needs are not easy to pigeon-hole often get a bad deal from health and social services. Reports on one project in London that aims to provide a service to adults with learning difficulties who either slip through the gaps between learning difficulties and mental health services, or who appear not to be eligible for services but clearly have a need.
The risk of re-institutionalization: examining rates of admission to long-term care among adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities over time
- Authors:
- OUELLETTE-KUNTZ Helene, MARTIN Lynn, McKENZIE Katherine
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 14(4), 2017, p.293–297.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Despite efforts toward community living for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, there is a risk of re-institutionalisation through placement in long-term care facilities. To examine patterns of admission to long-term care facilities in Ontario, Canada among adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities across key demographic and clinical variables, a cohort of 50 670 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities was identified using administrative and clinical health data. Proportions admitted to long-term care facilities between 2009 and 2013 were compared to proportions in a random sample of the general population. A greater proportion of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities were admitted to long term care over the 4-year period (4.5 vs. 0.9%). Mental health and addiction problems as well as frailty were more strongly associated with admission among adults without intellectual and developmental disabilities. The proportion of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities admitted annually dropped from 1.6% (2009/10) to 1% (2012/13) while it remained stable among those without disabilities (∼0.3%); no change was observed in the proportion of younger adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A small proportion of younger adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities continue to be admitted to long-term care. Research is needed to understand factors which predict admission in this group as well as age-appropriate alternatives to long-term care. (Publisher abstract)
Predictors of hospital admission for women with learning disabilities and psychiatric disorders compared with women maintained in community settings
- Authors:
- TAGGART Laurence, MCMILLAN R., LAWSON Annette
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Mental Health and Learning Disabilities, 3(1), March 2009, pp.30-41.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This study examined the personal characteristics and social context of two groups of women with learning disabilities and psychiatric disorders who resided in some form of community residential facility. One group of women had been admitted to hospital in the past 12 months (N = 20) and the other had been maintained in the community without any admissions (N = 33). A prospective natural group comparison design was employed over a 12-month period to study any differences between the groups. Data was collected from the women's key workers using a pro forma and three standardised instruments: Index of Social Competence, Aberrant Behaviour Checklist and the PAS-ADD Checklist. The groups were matched on age and level of learning disabilities. Differences were found between the groups' behavioural and psychiatric profiles. Anti-psychotic medication was the first line of treatment. A non-significant trend was found on negative life experiences, and a binary logistic regression analysis confirmed that high levels of challenging behaviour and having behavioural/mental health management strategies in place predicted hospital admission. The findings of this study are discussed and improvements are explored.
Clinical risk assessment for people with learning disabilities who offend
- Authors:
- TAYLOR John L., et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Forensic Practice, 3(1), April 2001, pp.22-32.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
The NHS Executive's guidance on the discharge of mentally disordered people, including those with learning disabilities, requires that risk assessment is a component part of the Care Programme Approach and that risk assessments should be carried out systematically using a standardised approach, but practitioners are resistant to moving away from reliance on clinical judgements when making their assessments. Suggests a solution to the difficulty clinicians often experience incorporating risk assessment tools into their clinical practice. A case example is given to illustrate how clinical assessments of offenders with learning disabilities can be utilised to estimate the risks presented. By demonstrating this procedure, a protocol for reaching clinically defensible decisions about the risks presented by clients is described, which also allows for the targeting of priority therapeutic and management interventions.
Forensic risk assessment in intellectual disabilities: the evidence base and current practice in one English region
- Author:
- TURNER Stephen
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 13(4), 2000, pp.239-255.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The growing interest in forensic risk assessment in intellectual disability services reflects the perception that deinstitutionalisation has exposed more people to a greater risk of offending. However, ‘risk’ and the related idea of ‘dangerousness’ are problematic concepts because of connotations of dichotomous definition, stability and predictability. In order to discover how such problems were reflected in practice, a survey of providers in the North-west Region of England was undertaken. Seventy out of 106 providers identified as possibly relevant to this inquiry responded to a short postal questionnaire. Twenty-nine respondents – mainly in the statutory sector – reported operating a risk assessment policy relating to offending. The number of risk assessments completed in the previous year varied from none to ‘several hundred’. Providers reported three main kinds of problems: (1) resources or service configuration; (2) interagency or interdisciplinary cooperation or coordination; and (3) issues relating to the effectiveness, design and content of assessment.
The dangers of a normal life
- Author:
- GEORGE Mike
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 18.3.99, 1999, pp.30-31.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
Asks what do you do when a service user with learning difficulties and mental illness wants to return to normal life but, when she is given her wish, her life breaks down into dangerous behaviour.
Care in the community for people with a learning disability: choice, opportunity and risk
- Authors:
- BALDWIN Susan, THIRKETTLE Barry
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health Care, 2(5), January 1999, pp.167-169.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
How to balance safety with real opportunities for choice is an issue for all those caring for people with a learning disability living in the community. Yet such opportunities are essential to personal development and a fundamental human rights. Explains how, for care professionals, it means taking, and managing, risks.