The aim of this review is to synthesise findings from research about the experiences of people with learning disabilities who have faced arrest and jail time. After an extensive search of the literature, four relevant articles were found. The first-person accounts presented in these four studies were pooled, and a thematic analysis was undertaken.…

There is a lack of international research focusing on how the siblings-in-law of adults with a learning disability experience their commitment to provide support. Using narrative research, the authors have aimed to gain an insight into the perspectives of 14 siblings-in-law (living in the Flemish part of Belgium) about the decision to live…

A systematic literature review was conducted between September 2010 and April 2011 and published earlier in this journal, paper 1. The findings indicated that few studies of Self-Directed Support focused specifically on people with intellectual disabilities. The range of individuals' ability and distinction between adults with or without…

In 2009 the city of Leicester hosted the Special Olympics Great Britain National Summer Games. Around 2500 athletes with learning disabilities competed in 21 sports. This article argues that this sporting mega-event had important potential legacy consequences for the hosts, the governing body --Special Olympics Great Britain (SOGB)--and also for…

The effectiveness of group therapy for people with learning disabilities and anxiety management issues is reviewed. People with learning disabilities face increased levels of psychological distress compared to the general population, yet are often faced with a lack of social support and poor coping techniques to manage their distress. A 6-week…

An audit was conducted across Surrey to investigate pain recognition and management with people with learning disabilities. This section of the audit looked at what people with learning disabilities understood and experienced when they had pain compared to good practice from the literature. The results show that people with learning disabilities…

The aim of the audit was to evaluate the current clinical practice for learning-disabled individuals with psychotic disorders. We evaluated the existing clinical practice in 910 individuals who were under the care of learning disability psychiatrists in Buckinghamshire (population of 480 000). This was compared with the National Institute for…

For adults with learning disabilities, becoming a parent can fulfil childhood dreams to take their place in society through a highly valued social role. Recent research aimed at describing the experience of parents with a learning disability suggests that there are barriers to successful planning for both pregnancy and parenthood. However, with…

This article describes a project about using contact work with people with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder. People with learning disabilities and additional autistic spectrum disorder are at risk of becoming socially isolated because of their difficulties in interacting with others. Contact work is a form of Pre-Therapy, which…

There is a small but expanding literature about the transition to adulthood for young people with intellectual disabilities. However, voices of young people with intellectual disabilities are under-represented. This study explored the perspectives of young people with intellectual disabilities on their transition to adulthood, focusing…

This article examines the exploitation of patient labour at Kew Cottages, Australia's first purpose-built state institution for people with learning disabilities. Analysing historical evidence for the period 1887-1950 shows that unpaid patient labour contributed significantly to the economy of the Cottages and so to the government department of…

In the late 20th century, the day services which had been set up for adults defined as having learning disabilities became understood as problematic because of the effects of segregation. The new solution became the adjustment of services to support a governmental form of personhood; a model of personhood defined by independence, the ability to…

This paper demonstrates the effectiveness of the multi-element behaviour support (MEBS) model in meeting the rights of persons with intellectual disabilities and behaviours that challenge. It does this through explicitly linking the multi-element model to the guiding principles of a human rights based approach (HRBA) using a vignette to…

This paper evaluates a participatory action research (PAR) approach to conducting family research in Ireland. Drawing on PAR methodology it describes how parents of people with intellectual disabilities were recruited and trained to facilitate focus groups of parents in Ireland, in order to create an evidence base to support improved dialogue…

To contribute to increasing the quality and quantity of communication between staff and adults with intellectual disabilities, training was undertaken to enhance the awareness and knowledge of signing as a method of communication. Multidisciplinary team members, residential and day centre staff were trained to use 20 core signs. Training methods…