Search results for ‘Subject term:"learning disabilities"’ Sort:
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Architects of reform
- Author:
- KAEHNE Axel
- Journal article citation:
- Learning Disability Today, 9(5), July 2009, pp.34-36.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
Highlights the key themes from a series of research papers delivered at a round table summit involving academics and practitioners from the US, UK, Netherlands, Germany and Australia looking at what really improves lives for people with learning disabilities.
Project SEARCH UK: evaluating its employment outcomes
- Author:
- KAEHNE Axel
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 29(6), 2016, pp.519-530.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Background: The study reports the findings of an evaluation of Project SEARCH UK. The programme develops internships for young people with intellectual disabilities who are about to leave school or college. The aim of the evaluation was to investigate at what rate Project SEARCH provided employment opportunities to participants. Methods: The evaluation obtained data from all sites operational in the UK at the time of evaluation (n = 17) and analysed employment outcomes. Results: Data were available for 315 young people (n = 315) in the programme and pay and other employment related data were available for a subsample. The results of the analysis suggest that Project SEARCH achieves on average employment rates of around 50 per cent. Conclusion: Project SEARCH UK represents a valuable addition to the supported employment provision in the UK. Its unique model should inform discussions around best practice in supported employment. Implications for other supported employment programmes are discussed. (Publisher abstract)
Focus groups with people with learning disabilities
- Authors:
- KAEHNE Axel, O'CONNELL Clare
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 14(2), June 2010, pp.133-145.
- Publisher:
- Sage
- Place of publication:
- London
This article begins by commenting on the role of focus groups in qualitative research. It then reviews the current literature on focus groups in learning disability research and provides an overview of four aspects that may impact on the usefulness of the focus group method with respondents with learning disabilities.
Get a job...get a life
- Authors:
- KAEHNE Axel, BEYER Stephen
- Journal article citation:
- Learning Disability Today, November 2009, pp.30-31.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
The authors consider the culture shift needed to get people with learning disabilities into the labour market. A specific government pilot 'The Getting a Life programme' is briefly described. The programme mainly targets young people in education and aims to change attitudes of stakeholders and create partnerships.
Generation gap
- Authors:
- KAEHNE Axel, BEYER Stephen
- Journal article citation:
- Learning Disability Today, 9(3), May 2009, pp.34-36.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
The results of a study looking at what works when it comes to transition to employment for young people with learning disabilities are presented. The study looked at five aspects of transition support, including what models of employment transition planning currently operate; what transitional planning leads to young people gaining and keeping employment; what ensures effective involvement of young people, their families and relevant agencies; what agency partnerships are essential; and what changes in central and local government policy are needed to improve transition pathways to employment.
A tokenistic exercise? User involvement in service planning
- Authors:
- KAEHNE Axel, CATHERALL Chris
- Journal article citation:
- Learning Disability Today, August 2012, pp.22-24.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
In recent years, policy makers have been increasing service user involvement in service planning, normally via consultation processes. However, the scope of these consultations varies greatly. This study investigated the views of two parents of children with learning disabilities who had been involved in steering groups designed to plan new services. Two themes were highlighted: the parents felt unable to comment on the details of the services due to a lack of understanding of the terminology used; and the link between user consultation and service planning was unclear. The article concludes that more research is required in order to understand how to effectively include service users in service planning.
Choice for young people with learning disabilities in post-education transition
- Author:
- KAEHNE Axel
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health Review Journal, 14(2), June 2009, pp.37-43.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Governmental policy identifies choice as a central theme for support services to people with learning disabilities. Services are obligated to ensure that people's wants as well as abilities govern decisions on all important issues. As a consequence, young people with learning disabilities in transition are being offered career development options during transition review meetings. The paper will focus on the issues relating to choice during this post-education transition. The paper will argue that the processes necessary to sustain the capacity of the young person with learning disabilities to choose are not well understood. It will focus on the career choices for young people with learning disabilities during transition and will maintain that the availability of options is only one consideration. The capacity to choose and the types of support that are most effective in facilitating the capacity to choose are equally important. Some conceptual considerations will assist in identifying the shortcomings of current policy and practice.
Project SEARCH: a new model of supported employment?
- Author:
- KAEHNE Axel
- Journal article citation:
- Learning Disability Today, 15(1), January 2015, pp.22-24.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
Reports on the evaluation of Project SEARCH UK programme, an intern-based supported employment programme originally devised in the USA. The evaluation examined employment outcome data from 17 participating sites in the South West of England. In the programme a business, often a hospital, takes the lead in developing the internships. It also commits to take on 60 per cent of its interns after graduation for full time employment. The programme is primarily open to young people with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum conditions who are in their last year of school or college. Outcomes found that Project SEARCH graduates had a significantly higher rate of finding employment than in other supported employment programmes. It was also successful in offering opportunities to people with a range of learning disabilities. Interns also found work in a variety of roles. The evaluation demonstrates that Project Search is a valuable addition to supported employment programmes in the UK. (Edited publisher abstract)
Final report: evaluation of employment outcomes of project SEARCH UK
- Author:
- KAEHNE Axel
- Publisher:
- South West Employment Institute
- Publication year:
- 2014
- Pagination:
- 27
- Place of publication:
- Liverpool
An assessment of the employment outcomes of Project SEARCH sites in the UK since inception of the programme. Project SEARCH started at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Ohio USA. The idea was to develop placements for people with intellectual disabilities in the hospital which could be utilised as springboards for lasting employment opportunities. As of July 2013 the UK had 17 active sites. In all cases, the sites are run by a collaboration or partnership between the host employer, an education provider or vocational training organisation, and a supported employment agency. About 36 per cent of all participants have found full time paid employment (defined as more than 16 hours per week). This amounts to 114 individuals out of 316 participants. Another 35 individuals have found part time paid employment (less than 16 hours per week), which amounts to about 11 per cent. The report suggests that an improved shared learning process for all sites, grounded in detailed outcome and good practice analysis, may be critical to the success of the programme. In addition, it acknowledges that in the UK the programme has been developed within the context of transition for young people with learning disabilities and as a result a comprehensive assessment of its success should take into account recruitment practices, the transition pathways involved and the links that Project SEARCH has with the statutory transition process. (Edited publisher abstract)
Supported employment for young people with intellectual disabilities facilitated through peer support: a pilot study
- Authors:
- KAEHNE Axel, BEYER Stephen
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 17(3), 2013, pp.236-251.
- Publisher:
- Sage
- Place of publication:
- London
The article reports the evaluation of a small-scale–supported employment project in a local authority in England. The study examined whether or not the peer support model could be used to deliver supported employment to a group of young people with intellectual disabilities. The authors utilised a mixed-method approach involving activity data, family interviews and a postal survey with participating employers. Five families took part in the study. The findings show that families viewed the project positively, although it was insufficiently embedded in the wider transition planning. The study indicates that the peer support model may represent a useful addition to the conventional supported employment efforts for this population. However, more research is needed to demonstrate the benefits of peer support over and above the benefits of conventional supported employment for young people in post-school transition. In particular, producing a better evidence base on the exact impact of peer support on service users’ experiences is recommended. (Publisher abstract)