Background: Rates of mental health conditions are high among adults with learning disabilities relative to the general population, however research suggests mental health conditions may be missed or under-identified in this population group. This review considers factors associated with the identification of mental health conditions among adults…

Background: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) recommend all disabled people receive support to develop their autonomy. Subsequently, evolving models for supported decision-making and informed consent present guidance to enable autonomy support, which have relevance to people with intellectual…

Background: Previous research indicated a high prevalence of disordered sleep among adults with learning disabilities, however issues with design impacted findings. The current systematic review aims to: (1) present how disordered sleep and sleep disorders amongst adults with learning disabilities are described in the literature, and (2) report on…

Background: The terms idiot, imbecile, and moron are generally associated with notions of intelligence, having served both scientific and mundane roles across cultural-historical contexts and in many different countries. This study seeks to explore the degree to which the use of these terms is an everyday part of our lives and to map out the…

Background: Social media use continues to grow, and it offers an important way for adults with intellectual disabilities to feel socially included and to communicate with others. Aim: This study aimed to establish the state of knowledge about social media use among adults with intellectual disabilities, their experiences and its impact. Method: A…

Background: The immediate post-world war II era was a critical turning point in the history of learning disability in the United Kingdom and much of the global north. Most notably the gradual move away from institutional provision to a community-oriented approach. While many diverse threads contributed to this change, a key influence was the slow,…

Background: Individuals with diabetes and a learning disability have poorer health outcomes than those without a learning disability. In the UK, the health inequalities faced by people with learning disabilities are often the result of barriers they face in accessing timely, appropriate and effective health care. The aim of the study was to review…

Background: Active recreation denotes engagement with meaningful and rewarding activities that can improve physical and mental well-being for everyone; however, there are specific challenges to participation in active recreation for people with learning disabilities. Aim: To understand what hinders and what enables participation in active…

Background: Arts therapies take different forms, including music, dance and drama therapies. Access to meaningful activities is limited for people with an intellectual disability. Music, dance and drama therapies could be relevant strategies to improve well-being of people with an intellectual disability. To encourage the inclusion of these…

Background: People with learning disabilities have poorer access to mental health services. It is important for health and social care professionals to have adequate knowledge and skills combined with positive attitudes to work with this population. This review focuses on the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of health and social care…

Background: It is necessary to understand which variables successfully contribute to the adoption of positive behaviour support (PBS) in disability services if people with disability are to experience meaningful outcomes. Methods: A systematic review of the disability support literature was undertaken, and meta-aggregation was used to synthesise…

Background: The mental health and well-being of individuals can be positively affected by improving facial appearance through orthodontic treatment. However, research is limited on the relationship between facial appearance and self-concept of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Materials and methods: This scoping review includes 19…

Background: There is a wealth of research on adolescents with Down syndrome (DS) covering a large range of topics such as obesity, speech and language, education and health-related quality of life. However, for quality of life, much of the available literature for adolescents with DS relies on parent proxy reporting. This results in more research…

Background: Vitamin D deficiency can increase the risk of bone disease, muscle weakness and fractures. The aim of this systematic review is to assess for the prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency in people with learning disability. Method: The "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses" checklist was followed where…

Background: Young people with learning disabilities are frequently underrepresented in research accounts. This study describes the experiences of young people moving from the care system. Methods: We scoped the English and Swedish literature for first-hand accounts and interviewed four young people with learning disabilities leaving the English…