The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) places the individual at the heart of the decision making process and has the potential to improve the lives of many people, but the implementation of the act has been hampered by a lack of awareness and understanding, and for many it appears as an optional add-on when it should be central to practice.
A Parent’s Guide: Improving the well-being of young children with learning disabilities
A collaboration between the University of Warwick, Cerebra, Mencap, the Challenging Behaviour Foundation, and parents of children with learning disabilities.
The booklet has been created to help parents support the well-being of their young child with a learning disability (aged 0 to 5).
NHS Improvement: learning disabilities resources
Resources to help you make a sustainable difference to the quality and consistency with which safe and therapeutic services for people with learning disabilities, autism or both, are delivered.
Improving care for people with diabetes and a learning disability
People with a learning disability are more likely to have Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes than the general population. We also know that:
- People with a learning disability are more likely to be obese than the general population.
- People with a learning disability have lower levels of physical activity
- Higher rates of obesity and lower levels of physical activity increase the risk of diabetes.
Under the Equality Act 2010 service providers are required to make reasonable adjustments to address the additional needs of people with a learning disability. Even so, people with a learning disability often face barriers in accessing and using health services.
A collaborative team funded by The Health Foundation and the University of Leeds has created a set of evidence-informed, practical resources that can help overcome some of these barriers. The new resources help commissioners and health practitioners to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to the care they provide to people with diabetes breaking down barriers for people with a learning disability.
You can find the resources on Diabetes UK’s shared practice page, www.diabetes.org.uk/learning-disability
Let the team know what you think of the resources on twitter using #RA2Diabetes
If you would like further information on the resources, please contact the team at: medrema@leeds.ac.uk.
Network Autism: Autism and mental health
Ella Tabb, a blogger, YouTuber and autism speaker, discusses her mental health difficulties prior to her autism diagnoses in her 30s. She explores how unmasking and strategies such as mindfulness have helped to improve her mental health.