physical and learning disabilities

Improving the patient experience: sharing success in mental health and learning disabilities - the King's Fund's Enhancing the Healing Environment programme

This publication celebrates the successes of 47 schemes completed by the 46 NHS Trusts in England who took part in the King's Fund's Enhancing the Healing Environment, a nurse-led environmental improvement programme to improve the environment in which they delivered care. Through the programme, the Department of Health and The King's Fund hoped to raise awareness and understanding among NHS staff about how to bring about practical, value-for-money environmental improvements.

Autism in Mind

Autism in Mind (AIM), based in England, provides support and information to parents, carers, young people and families living with autistic spectrum disorder, and aims to make a positive difference to the lives of families living with autism. It has set up several on-line support and information groups for parents and carers to access. The AIM DIET highlights the issues within Diagnosis – Intervention – Education and Training, needed to be addressed by the government.

Autism Initiatives UK

Autism Initiatives UK is a charitable organisation established in 1972, providing support for individuals with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and their families in locations throughout the north of England, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Ireland. It exists to enable persons with ASD "to be fully included, participating members of their community through advocacy, public awareness and education."

Autism Education Trust

The Autism Education Trust (AET), launched in November 2007, continues to be funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families. It is a collaboration between The National Autistic Society, TreeHouse and The Council for Disabled Children, and others working in the autism field in England.

Adults with learning disabilities implementation of 'The same as you?' Scotland 2006

National figures for services provided by local authorities in Scotland for adults with learning disabilities are presented. All figures for 2006 relate to the week ending 10 September 2006 and are provisional. This publication is a result of The same as you? review of services for people with learning disabilities, published in May 2000. Its 29 recommendations for developing learning disability services set out a programme for change over 10 years.

A hospital or a home? Findings from themed visits to NHS and private sector wards for people with learning disabilities

The Commission undertook a themed visit to all learning disability in-patient units during the 2007-08 visiting programme. The Commission visited 39 facilities across Scotland from 25 October to 7 November 2007. Prior to the visits, health boards were asked to provide some information about the wards in their areas.

Staff were asked a series of questions about the people living in the ward on the day of the visit and about how care and treatment was provided. Commission staff met with individual patients and some relatives and carers.

Pain management for older people with learning difficulties and dementia

In general, the pain relief needs of older people with dementia are not adequately met. The aim of this research was to determine whether the same unsatisfactory treatment also applies to people with learning difficulties who have dementia and, if so, to make recommendations for improving practice. The research team was based at the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships, University of Edinburgh, and the Dementia Services Development Centre, University of Stirling.

Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils' Educational Records) (Scotland) Act 2002

This Act will require education authorities, proprietors of independent schools, managers of grant-aided schools and boards of management of self-governing schools to prepare accessibility strategies to improve access to education for pupils with disabilities; require those authorities and proprietors or managers to review and implement these strategies; and empower the Scottish Ministers to make regulations in relation to the keeping, transferring and disclosure of pupils' educational records.

Transitions to adult services by disabled young people leaving out of authority residential schools

This is a summary of a report on a study that sought to identify: differences in planning for disabled young people in residential schools outside local authority boundaries compared to young people attending their local special schools; the factors which impact on transition planning and transition outcomes for these young people; key areas for future research and the feasibility of such work.