Two young men disclosed emotional, sexual and physical abuse while attending college and living with Shared Lives carers in the UK. This paper provides a narrative account of the period when the two men were exposed to the abuse, the disclosures, the investigation and the legal and safeguarding investigation outcomes. A second paper describes the…

Background: This is the second of two papers describing a case study of two young men with complex learning disabilities. They presented with severe trauma-related mental distress following alleged sexual, emotional and physical abuse. This paper concerns the psychological intervention and support provided for them and their families over a period…

Background: Historically, the emotional lives and mental health needs of adults with learning disabilities received scant attention, especially when the policy of institutionalisation was at its zenith in the UK. Materials and Methods: This case study employed biographical narrative interviews based on a psychosocial approach. The main sources of…

Whilst progress has been made in understanding the friendships of children with autism, research on the friendships of children with additional learning disabilities remains extremely limited. In this research, a qualitative case study approach provided a rich description of the friendship concepts and capabilities of Ben, a 10-year-old boy with…

We live in an increasingly sexualised society, and the buying and selling of sex is a feature of this society. The laws about prostitution are complex, but the act of selling or buying sex is in itself not illegal. The author has extensive clinical experience of hearing the stories of men with learning disabilities who do use commercial sex…

We aimed to explore in detail the sexual lives and behaviour of men with mild learning disabilities living both in community and in secure hospital settings. We wanted to generate hypotheses about them and identify potential unmet needs. We used a narrative interview that focused on areas such as relationships, sex education, contraception and the…

Background: There is an increase in people with learning disabilities with offending and other disturbed behaviour who are placed in the local community and out of their area of origin. Aims: To compare clients placed locally and out of area. Method: All authorities in an English region were surveyed and interviewed about their clients placed…

Cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) is increasingly being used with people with learning disabilities. One of the challenges in working this way is effectively sharing and understanding the formulation of the client's problem. One could argue that only with a shared understanding can there be collaboration between the therapist and the client. By…