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The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on the article by Flynn et al.

In this commentary, the authors will develop some further thoughts about the importance of empathy, its relational nature and place in practice. The authors use some examples from systemic practice to illustrate.

Social psychological research underlines the importance of empathy in practice. Systemic practice and other collaborative approaches that ask about the experiences and abilities of people with a learning disability and their networks can support new possibilities as network members are listened to, included and respected.

The relational nature of empathy and its connection with practice is explored in this paper.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on Alex Cockain’s article “De-fusing and re-fusing face-to-face encounters involving autistic persons in Hong Kong”.

The commentary considers the issues raised in Cockain’s article primarily from a focus on Goffman’s concept of “stigma”. Cognitive, emotional and behavioural components of stigma are examined and its wider relevance considered.

There has been less research on the stigma of learning disability than on that of mental health, despite a very early study of learning disability (Edgerton, 1967) using the concept only four years after the publication of Goffman’s (1963) seminal work. A number of points of relevance of stigma are identified including to social role valorisation, visible and invisible stigmas, the concept of “passing”, microaggression, disablism and labelling.

The commentary illustrates the relevance of the concept of stigma to other aspects of learning disability and disability scholarship.

The purpose of this paper is to review two studies concerning referrals for challenging behaviour to community learning disability teams (CLDTs). The social constructionist approach to research taken by the studies is introduced.

The studies used critical discourse analysis and thematic analysis to analyse referral texts and interviews with referrers.

The studies found referral processes locating service problems within the bodies of persons with intellectual disabilities whilst constructing the actions of services as appropriate. This was in part achieved by employing the discourses of the total institutions. The referral process often served the purposes of the referring service.

The research took place in a small geographical location across two learning disability teams.

The process of referring to CLDTs and the language used in these referrals is an under researched area. This paper shows how the language and documents of services are rich sources of data. Services exist in a network and understanding how this network functions is important to understanding the function of referrals.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on Stacey and Edwards' article on a narrative therapy approach to working with men with learning disabilities who are lonely.

The article reflects on the issues raised by Stacey and Edwards, in the light of other theoretical and empirical literature on loneliness and friendship.

It is important to consider problems of loneliness in the context of a social model of disability. People with learning disabilities are often excluded from the networks of relationships that are so important to the maintenance of emotional well‐being.

Overcoming loneliness is likely to require a range of strategies including group action by people with learning disabilities, the development of non‐disabled people's ability and willingness to establish relationships with disabled people and developments in our understanding of how social systems can be designed to be more inclusive.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the findings of the research studies on referral to a community learning disability team presented in “Causing trouble: the language of learning disability and challenging behaviour”.

The commentary is based on a review of the article and associated literature.

The studies were undertaken from a social constructionist perspective. It is argued that the use of language in referral texts and the way they represent people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour is influenced by wider social and historical ideas of what is accepted knowledge. The analysis of these texts contributes to the understanding of how outmoded responses to challenging behaviour are maintained and has potential benefits when used in the context of positive behaviour support.

The commentary considers the studies presented from a practitioner perspective.