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Annual increases in the number of parenting referrals made to a learning disability team over a ten‐year period led to this audit. The increase in the number of these referrals highlights a growing need for services to support parents with learning disabilities, to ensure that children remain in the family home wherever possible. Previous research has identified several factors that may reduce a learning‐disabled parent's ability to parent his or her children effectively, including social and familial issues. This audit aimed to examine the relationship between parents' demographics and children's outcomes, specifically whether children were removed from the family home. Information was gathered from the files of both the learning disability team and social services, and involved all parenting referrals made to this team between 1994 and 2003. The findings of this audit suggest that the earlier services can become involved with parents, the better the outcomes for their children will be. If services do not become involved early on, the children are more likely to have developmental problems, and once child protection proceedings have begun there is a very high likelihood that children will be removed from the family home.

People who are homeless and have a learning disability tend to be more vulnerable and have greater health needs than homeless people who do not have a learning disability (Leedham, 2002). However, the literature on the experiences of this population is very limited. This paper investigates the experiences and views of professionals from a range of settings who work with people who are homeless and have a learning disability. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 23 professionals working for health, social care, probation, employment and voluntary agencies. Professionals described how people who are homeless and have a learning disability have a range of complex personal, health and social needs that are often not met by current accommodation and support provision. Improvements to the quality of temporary accommodation and the on‐site support offered are needed in order to react effectively to episodes of homelessness. In addition, improvements in the quality of outreach support and a greater choice of suitable housing might help to prevent homelessness among this client group. Another paper on a difference aspect of this research (Hebblethwaite et al, this issue) will report on the personal experiences of homeless people with a learning disability.

Government guidelines state that health services must measure outcomes for patients. However, there is only limited evidence on outcome measures for children with learning disabilities. This paper reports on a study designed to investigate the suitability and effectiveness of four outcome measures (Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for Children and Adolescents ‐ HoNOSCA, Children's Global Assessment Scale ‐ C‐GAS, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire ‐ SDQ, and Commission for Health Improvement Experience of Service questionnaire ‐ CHI) for a community team working with children with learning disabilities. The paper highlights the difficulties in capturing the impact of service intervention in a multidisciplinary community setting. The implications of the research for clinical practice are discussed.

This paper explores the experiences of people who have been homeless and in contact with learning disability services. The research adds to the very limited evidence, particularly in the UK, on how services can better meet the health and social needs of this group. All people with learning disabilities who were homeless and known to either local social services or health learning disability services in a large city in the North East of England were identified. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 14 participants at their current accommodation. Content analysis was used to identify common themes. Interview data indicated that breakdown of social support was the main cause of homelessness, and that in temporary accommodation people with learning disabilities were vulnerable to exploitation by other residents. Concerns were also expressed about the quality of housing, mental health was a recurring theme and the importance of ensuring that people with learning disabilities receive adequate treatment for these difficulties is discussed. Access to health care in general is facilitated by support in arranging and attending appointments. Mediation services may play a key role in preventing people with learning disabilities from becoming homeless through relationship breakdown. The study also suggests that improvements in temporary accommodation are needed, including housing designed specifically for people with learning disabilities, in order to react effectively to episodes of homelessness.

This study investigates the current practice of referrers with regard to consent to treatment of adult patients who have learning disabilities. It addresses specifically referrers' awareness of any guidelines on consent, whether they obtain consent before referral and, if so, whether and how they keep written records on gaining consent. Professionals who had referred an adult patient to the Community Team Learning Disability (CTLD) in Newcastle in the last two years were sent a postal questionnaire. The results of the questionnaire are being used to gain better understanding of present practice among referrers and to provide local guidelines on gaining consent in line with recommendations from the Department of Health.