Background: People with learning disabilities are often left behind and ostracised in life, education, employment and in research. This article describes the importance and value that people with learning disabilities can bring when participating in co-production and lived experience research. The article reports on the inequalities and barriers…

Background: Service culture refers to the practices, views and values within service organisations. Developing positive cultures has been thought imperative to improving social care, though day services and their cultures remain an under-researched area. For many autistic people with profound learning disabilities, day services are the sites at…

Background: People with intellectual disabilities are living longer and are increasingly diverse, with health and care needs that are varied and complex. Without changes to funding, services have found it difficult to respond to needs and wishes. Method: A descriptive mixed methods design study, data were collected through questionnaire, focus…

Background: There has been significant focus in the past decade on reducing admissions to assessment and treatment units for people with intellectual disabilities experiencing mental health or behavioural concerns. This has included the development of intensive support functions of National Health Service Learning Disability services to bolster…

Background: Professional support for people with intellectual disabilities is increasingly delivered remotely. Understanding what support workers do to support people with intellectual disabilities remotely, and how they do this, is therefore important. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the remote support practice of the support…

Background: Living in the digital era, young adults with intellectual disabilities use diverse digital products, the Internet, and social media in their daily lives. However, they may need support in digital undertakings as in other aspects of life. In a disability service context, staff are primary support providers but are restricted and guided…

Background: This article presents an overview and discussion of the main developments in the lives of persons with intellectual disability in Malta over the last 70 years in residential services, education, employment, friendships and relationships, culture, sport and leisure activities, having a say in one's own life and how people look at…

Background: Sleep hygiene education (SHE) is a familiar intervention for addressing behavioural sleep problems in children with developmental disabilities that involves advising parents on sleep-promoting behaviours; however, it is supported by a limited evidence base. Materials and methods: This exploratory study aimed to enhance qualitative…

Background: A key aim of public policy has been to move people with a learning disability from segregated settings into ordinary housing, with the expectation that they would become integrated in and accepted by the rest of society. Despite this policy, people with a learning disability have high rates of unemployment, social isolation, mental…

Seven per cent of individuals with learning disabilities also display challenging behaviour ("Challenging behaviour: analysis and intervention in people with severe intellectual disabilities," 2001, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press), which has an effect on the whole family. Services need to be developed to support and reflect this…

Parents of children with developmental disabilities (autism or intellectual disabilities) are more susceptible to stress and have a greater burden of adversity than other parents. Their well-being and satisfaction greatly depend on the system's response of finding them formal support and the help they need. This study proposes an interpretive…

Learning of a child's disability can be a difficult time for any parent. Sensitive support is critical to ensuring parents understand the nature of the disability, the prognosis and services available to them. However, where the disability is not well understood, where professionals are not well informed and where pathways of care are not…

Over-representation of people with learning disability in prisons has been demonstrated in many Western jurisdictions. This was the first comprehensive research in a UK prison. The research used a random 10% sample of a prison population (n = 140). A semi-structured interview, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (UK version) and the Vineland…

A case example is used to illustrate ways of adapting service provision for a range of difficulties to suit a person with learning disabilities and also where there may be limited access due to a remote and rural location.