This doctoral study examined the function of baby massage in supporting early infant-carer attachment relationships among families facing stressful life experiences. It was designed in response to Bennett, Underdown and Barlow's [Bennett, C., A. Underdown, and J. Barlow. 2013. "Massage for Promoting Mental and Physical Health in Typically…

Background: Despite calls for greater use of research and an appetite to do so within adult social care, a gap persists between research and practice. Aims and objectives: To explore views of adult social care staff about research and its application to everyday practice. To understand how these might impact upon research use capacity-building…

Caregivers can experience significant challenges following their child's autism diagnosis and often seek informational, relational and emotional support. Post-diagnostic support for caregivers has received relatively little research attention and represents a significant gap in the international evidence base. We used an iterative codesign process…

Background: Adults with intellectual disabilities often display behaviour that challenges that is a result of biological differences, psychological challenges, and lack of appropriate social support. Intensive Support Teams (IST) are recommended to support the care needs of this group and avoid hospitalisation. However, little attention has been…

This paper provides novel evidence on how a sharp increase in labor force participation among older women affects the provision of informal care to their older parents. Based on data from Understanding Society -- The UK Household Longitudinal Study, we use an instrumental variable approach that exploits a unique reform that increased the female…

The article reports research aimed at identifying factors relating to retention in English intellectual disability services, drawing on a study of the social care workforce. The research involved two rounds of interviews with social care managers and staff between 2009 and 2014. The study uses social exchange theory, particularly the idea of…

Background: Research suggests that a better awareness of how staff who directly support people with intellectual disabilities experience their working relationships, will contribute to understanding staff wellbeing and the quality of care they offer. This study aimed to gain insights into the lived experiences of support workers in supported…

Purpose: This paper describes a model of "Learning to care" derived from a study exploring how care workers in care homes learn to care for people living with dementia. The "Learning to care" model is primarily informal in nature in which influences such as formalised training and organisational culture impact care outcomes…

Background: Only 5.9% of working adults with a learning disability are in paid employment and their family-carers are similarly likely to be unemployed, as they continue to take on an extended caring and advocacy role as the welfare state retreats. Despite social policy efforts to stimulate employment for people with a learning disability, there…

Background: There are a growing number of people with learning disabilities and autism who access personal budgets in the form of direct payments in England. Although they are often involved in decisions about their support, personal budgets are usually managed by someone else, typically a parent. This study examined the experiences of carers who…

This exploratory study considers young carers' perceptions of factors contributing to their adjustment and benefit finding within their caregiving role. Benefit-finding, defined as the "process of deriving positive growth from adversity", is a key construct within the domain of positive psychology. A strengths-based perspective was…

The cost of permanent exclusion from school is an issue that has been gaining increasing attention in recent years. However, efforts to estimate these costs have mainly focused on those incurred after the student has been excluded, such as those for alternative education providers. Less focus has been given to costs associated with processes…

The problem of educational achievement by boys and young men is a long-standing and big one that has been largely ignored by policymakers. This new HEPI report considers the consequences for individuals and society and proposes: (1) adopting a 'boy positive' environment in schools; (2) expanding proven grassroots initiatives that help boys; (3)…

UK government responses to COVID-19 have intensified experiences of uncertainty for people with learning disabilities. The pandemic has eroded the support people receive, previously weakened by austerity measures. In research, COVID-19 related uncertainty has led to some reworking of methods and intensive contingency planning. This was to fulfil…

"The Really Useful Book of Learning and Earning for Young Adult Carers" is aimed at young adults (aged 16-25) in England who are looking after somebody else. The first edition of the book was printed in 2011. This third edition is full of new and up-to-date useful information about looking after your health and wellbeing, job hunting,…