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Use of the Mental Capacity Act with children and young people with intellectual disability
- Author:
- GRATTON Suzannah
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 7(2), 2013, pp.88-92.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This article examines the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and explores its application to young people with intellectual disabilities through two case studies. The first case examines whether 16-year-old young man with a moderate intellectual disability has the capacity to decide whether he should continue to live with his foster family or return home to his parents. The second case study is of a 17-year-old young woman with a severe intellectual disability who communicates using a limited range of Makaton signs and PECS. After a diagnosis of depression, doctors needed to decided whether she has capacity to consent to medication. The author concludes that the MCA is applicable to 16-18 year olds with intellectual disability and services require training and support in its implementation. Issues of adaptation of communication to convey complex matters and appropriate preparation for assessment are especially pertinent. (Edited publisher abstract)
Satisfaction with a child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) intellectual disability service
- Authors:
- CHILVERS Rebecca, GRATTON Suzannah, BERNARD Sarah H.
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 7(1), 2013, pp.49-58.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
A tier four mental health child and adolescent intellectual disability service was evaluated to discover the extent to which it was meeting the complex needs of children and families. Performance was judged against the key characteristics of a “model service” identified by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 2004. Questionnaires assessed all areas of a “model service” for parents and children, and were sent to the 68 consecutive referrals received within an 18 month period. A postal survey response rate of 42.6 per cent (parents) and 11.7 per cent (children) was achieved. The final sample was judged to be representative of the consecutive case series as a whole. The study demonstrated a high level of parental satisfaction on all indicators, suggesting that this was a “model service” as experienced by service-users themselves. Some issues raised by the study are being addressed, these include: developing patient information leaflets, review at the completion of an intervention and clearer explanation of the limitations of the service when families are first seen. The authors note that services such as the one described are highly demanding of professional time and expertise which has resource and financial implications.