Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Learning Disabilities”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

The sexual health needs of people with learning disabilities.

The sexual health of people with learning disabilities raises important management and practice issues for health services, and should be examined in the context of the current policy emphasis on advocacy, person-centred services and social inclusion (Department of Health, 2001). People with learning disabilities may have limited access to mainstream health services, and sexual health and genitourinary medicine (GUM) services are no exception (DoH, 2001; 1998). They are often excluded from society, either because they are 'segregated' within specialist support services in the community or because they live in isolation with carers, and health and social care models do not always join up locally to meet their needs.

Persons with Disabilities↗
PubMed2006

A qualitative analysis of the 'management of schizophrenia' within a medium-secure service for men with learning disabilities.

Within secure psychiatric services, nurses trained to work with people with learning disabilities are often called upon to deal with those experiencing psychosis; a role that they are not routinely prepared for in generic learning disability nurse training. Psycho-social interventions (PSI) are recommended as an adjunct to routine pharmacological treatment for people experiencing psychosis. There is a small literature that suggests that PSI has utility with people with learning disabilities. As part of a wider evaluation of the introduction of a PSI framework to a 10-bedded medium-secure unit for men with learning disabilities and mental health problems, 13 members of nursing staff completed the 'Management of Schizophrenic Patients Checklist'. The responses were analysed using a grounded theory approach. Principle themes identified are described. The therapy vs. security quandary frequently reported in forensic psychiatry was evident in responses. The findings are guiding a programme of training and ongoing supervision within the service and are discussed in the context of wider therapeutic issues and institutional environment.

Humans↗
PubMed2003

Diagnosis of personality disorders in learning disability.

BACKGROUND: Though contentious, the diagnosis of personality disorders in persons with learning disability is clinically relevant because it affects many aspects of management. AIMS: To examine published literature on the diagnosis of personality disorders in learning disability. METHOD: Selective review with computerised (Medline, Embase and PsychInfo) and manual literature searches. RESULTS: The variation in the co-occurrence of personality disorder in learning disability, with prevalence ranging from less than 1% to 91% in a community setting and 22% to 92% in hospital settings, is very great and too large to be explained by real differences. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis of personality disorders in learning disability is complex and difficult, particularly in those with severe disability. Developing consensus diagnostic criteria, specific for various developmental levels, is one way forward. Such criteria may need to include objective proxy measures such as behavioural observations and informant accounts.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Supplementary prescribing in mental health and learning disabilities.

Nurse prescribing in mental health and learning disability services is a new development. The experiences of nine nurses working in mental health and learning disabilities, who formed part of the first cohort in the U.K. to undertake the supplementary nurse prescribing course, are described. Experiences of the course and implementation of supplementary prescribing in practice are discussed. The attitudes of nurses, other health professionals and patients to nurse prescribing are also explored.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1990

An analysis of WISC-R factors for gifted students with learning disabilities.

Intellectual patterns of gifted students with learning disabilities were studied to determine cognitive factors characterizing these children. Twenty-four gifted children with learning disabilities (LD) and a control group of nondisabled gifted children were administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) (Wechsler, 1974). While differences between the two groups on individual subtests were examined, a comparison of broader factors was emphasized in discovering cognitive patterns that might suggest effective intervention. Experimental and control performances were compared on 14 factor scores, using cognitive classification systems of Bannatyne (1971), Kaufman (1975), Rapaport, Gill, and Schafer (1946), and Wechsler (1974). Gifted students with LD were more reliant on verbal conceptualization and reasoning than the control students. They also demonstrated deficiencies in short-term auditory memory and sound discrimination. The gifted group with LD exhibited the Organic Brain Syndrome factor (Wechsler, 1974) to a significantly greater extent than did the control group.

Achievement↗
PubMed1998

Epilepsy and learning disabilities--a challenge for the next millennium?

People with learning disabilities often have seizures in addition to other disorders. Precise diagnosis may be difficult, but accuracy can be improved using electroencephalographic and video investigations. Following the establishment of a diagnosis of epilepsy, individually tailored care is necessary taking into account other health, behavioural and therapeutic issues. Neuroimaging may indicate a need for surgery which should not be automatically excluded as a treatment option. Rational antiepileptic drug use is advised, with emphasis upon the newer agents due to their better tolerance and ease of use. A programme of regular review will prevent over-medicating. Drug therapy may be withdrawn in a seizure-free patient. Realistic goals should be established for each individual coupled with an optimistic approach to care. However, future developments require a solid evidence base combined with rationality in all aspects of management. The community learning disability epilepsy nurse specialist is the key health-care professional who can ensure that a learning disabled individual with epilepsy is able to take full advantage of all available services. Education, closer collaboration and the mutual recognition of skills will ensure more cohesive and comprehensive care for this disadvantaged patient population.

Anticonvulsants↗
PubMed1996

Social skill deficits and learning disabilities: a meta-analysis.

Over the past 15 years, increased attention has been directed at social skills and their relationship to learning disabilities. Using the methods of meta-analysis, this investigation explores the nature of social skill deficits among students with learning disabilities. Across 152 studies, quantitative synthesis shows that, on average, about 75% of students with learning disabilities manifest social skill deficits that distinguish them from comparison samples. Approximately the same level of group differentiation is found across different raters (teachers, peers, self) and across most dimensions of social competence. Although social skill deficits appear to be an integral part of the learning disability experience, a number of questions about the relationship between learning disability and social skill deficits remain unanswered. Until these questions are answered, social skill deficits are best viewed as one among many elements of the learning disability constellation, and no significant definitional changes related to social skill deficits appear warranted.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Social sensitivity in adolescents and adults with learning disabilities.

This study investigated social sensitivity and self-concept in students with learning disabilities (LD) and their non-learning-disabled (non-LD) peers. Thirty students each from public junior and senior high schools and a community college participated in the study; at each grade level, half were identified as learning disabled and half experienced no learning problem. Students were individually assessed in 30-minute interviews for their accuracy in interpreting the thoughts and feelings of actors in tape-recorded stories depicting two adults in happy angry, anxious, and sad interactions. A questionnaire assessing four dimensions of self-concept in learning situations (motivation, task orientation, problem-solving ability, and class membership) was also administered. LD students at all grade levels were significantly less accurate at interpreting social situations than were their non-LD peers, and had significantly lower self-concepts. These results support the need for remediation efforts specifically aimed at social skills for overcoming social deficits in adulthood.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2002

A multisource exploration of the friendship patterns of children with and without learning disabilities.

Friendship patterns of 117 children with learning disabilities (LD) and 115 children without LD in Grades 4-8 were examined. In comparison with children without LD, boys with LD had fewer mutual friends, children with LD had more friends with learning problems and more younger friends, and children with LD in Grades 4-6 had less stable relationships. With regard to friendship quality, children with LD reported higher levels of conflict, lower levels of validation, and more problems with relationship repair than did children without LD. The findings were discussed in terms of factors that have been found to enhance friendship such as proximity and similarity, and the social skills difficulties that have been associated with learning disabilities.

Child↗
PubMed1984

Conversational interactions between mothers and learning-disabled or nondisabled children during a problem-solving task.

This study focused on mother-child interactions during a problem-solving task to determine whether (a) mothers of learning-disabled children engage in conversational buffering to facilitate their child's participation in the task, and (b) whether learning-disabled children differ from nondisabled children in their use of language with their mothers. The results of this study provide some evidence that mothers of both learning-disabled and nondisabled children engage in conversational buffering, although there were few differences between the mothers of the learning-disabled and nondisabled children. Differences between learning-disabled and nondisabled children showed that the learning-disabled were more likely to agree with and less likely to disagree with their mothers than were the nondisabled children. These findings provide some evidence of maternal conversational buffering and suggest that learning-disabled children's previously reported unassertive conversational style in peer interactions extends to talk with their mothers.

Child↗
PubMed1989

Psychosocial functioning of learning-disabled children: replicability of statistically derived subtypes.

The PIC scores of 132 learning-disabled children between the ages of 6 and 12 years were investigated using Q-factor analysis, four hierarchical-agglomerative clustering techniques, and one iterative partitioning clustering technique. Results revealed excellent correspondence between the subtypes derived by all grouping methods in terms of both misclassifications and mean PIC profile similarity of the subtypes across techniques. The mean PIC profile of one subtype indicated normal psychosocial adjustment; a second subtype exhibited evidence of significant internalized psychopathology; a third subtype had a mean PIC profile suggestive of externalized psychosocial maladjustment. These subtypes were virtually identical to three subtypes reported by Porter and Rourke (1985) in another study of learning-disabled children. The results indicate that learning-disabled children comprise a heterogeneous population in terms of psychosocial functioning and that subtypes of learning-disabled children with similar patterns of socioemotional adjustment can be recovered reliably from this population across samples and statistical grouping techniques.

Child↗
PubMed2002

General practitioners' attitudes to patients who have learning disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Previous research suggests that the inadequate primary health care received by people with learning disabilities may be the result of general practitioners' (GPs) negative attitudes. Few studies have investigated the evidence for this assumption. This study uses psychological theory to inform an investigation of the attitudes and emotions experienced by GPs when working with learning disabled patients, as assessed by reliable and valid measures. METHOD: A questionnaire comprising an attitude measure and emotion measure was developed and tested for reliability and validity. This was mailed out to a total of 613 GPs registered with three Health Authorities, 310 questionnaires (51%) were returned. RESULTS: GP respondents held positive attitudes to working with patients who have learning disabilities. However, they were less positive about adapting their behaviour. Attitudes varied according to respondents' age and frequency of professional contact with this patient group. There was a strong association between attitudes and emotional experience. Attitudes were unaffected by learning disability training and non-professional contact. CONCLUSIONS: Negative perceptions about working with patients with learning disabilities do not fully explain the inadequate healthcare provided to this group. Other factors may include insufficient awareness of the benefits of adapting the format of a consultation, and the quality of the interface between the GP and the carer accompanying the patient.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The prevalence and costs of psychiatric disorders and learning disabilities.

BACKGROUND: The economic burden of psychiatric disorders and learning disability is assessed in order to aid decisions on priorities for research funding. METHOD: A wide variety of data sources both on prevalence and on the usage and costs of relevant services were used to measure the economic burden of each condition. RESULTS: Despite methodological problems and problems with the data, an attempt is made to estimate the relative economic burden imposed by each condition. No attempt is made to sum up the costs for each condition across the agencies and individuals involved. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that learning disability, schizophrenia and neurotic conditions (including depression) are major burdens on the National Health Service; senile dementia and depression in older people impact largely on local authority social services. Senile dementia, schizophrenia and learning disability are also heavy charges on the social security system. It is also notable that the large numbers with less severely disabling neurotic disorders generate a burden that, according to our figures, is comparable to schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

A multidisciplinary evaluation of the child with a visually related learning disability.

It is conceded that not all learning disabilities result from vision or visual perceptual problems. Optometrists are advised to familiarize themselves with techniques employed by other disciplines dealing with learning disabled children. It is suggested that they direct themselves to the myriad of variables involved in the care of the under achieving or non-achieving child so that their own specific techniques will become of greater value to the patient.

Child↗
PubMed1997

The orthodontic management of patients with profound learning disability.

The orthodontic management of patients with profound learning disability is described including a report of two cases. Close co-operation between the orthodontist and other providers of dental treatment is essential for the management of this group of patients, and a general anaesthetic may be needed to allow fixed appliances to be placed. The orthodontic treatment is co-ordinated with any necessary restorative or periodontal treatment. The moral and ethical questions raised by the treatment offered to this group of patients are discussed.

Anesthesia, Dental↗
PubMed1990

Verbal and nonverbal communication of events in learning-disability subtypes.

This study compared a group of nondisabled children (ND) with groups of learning-disabled children who were primarily impaired in reading and arithmetic skills (Reading-Arithmetic Disabled; RAD) and arithmetic but not reading (Arithmetic Disabled; AD) on a set of tasks involving comprehension and production of verbally and nonverbally presented events. Children viewed videotaped scenarios presented in verbal (narrative) and nonverbal (puppet actors) formats and were asked to describe or enact with puppets the events depicted in the stories. Rourke (1978, 1982) has shown that RAD children have problems with verbal skills, whereas AD children have problems with nonverbal skills. Consequently, it was hypothesized that children's performance in comprehending and reproducing stories would be related to the type of learning disability. Results showed that RAD children made more errors than AD children with verbal presentations and describe-responses, whereas AD children made more errors than RAD children with nonverbal presentations and enact-responses. In addition, learning disabled children were more likely than controls to misinterpret affect and motivation depicted in the stories. These results show that learning disabled children have problems with social communication skills, but that the nature of these problems varies with the type of learning disability.

Affect↗
PubMed1985

Comparison of memory skills in learning disabled, low-reading, and nondisabled adolescents.

Concerns are raised regarding the samples used in studies of learning disabled children. In this study, subjects were 56 high school students; 10 exhibited perceptual or processing difficulties ("learning disabled"), 15 performed poorly on reading achievement tests ("low readers"), and 31 showed no scholastic problems ("nondisabled"). Scores of the three groups were compared on nine memory tasks involving either auditory or visual input and encompassing a wide variety of content (digits, pictures, related and unrelated words, paired-associates, or sentences). The nondisabled group performed significantly better than the learning disabled group on all but one of the tasks. The low readers' performance was similar to that of the learning disabled group for some tasks, but significantly different on other tasks, most notably on tasks involving visual factors. Implications for research with learning disabled populations are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Health facilitation for people with learning disabilities.

Health facilitation is a concept introduced in the white paper 'Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century' (DH, 2001a). A project was set up in the West Midlands regions to look at what Primary Care Trust and specialist learning disability services were planning to do in respect of health facilitation in learning disabilities and to develop a resource tool for use by individuals working in this role. This article reiterates the extent of unmet health need experienced by people with learning disabilities and suggests that everyone involved in a caring role should be responsible for addressing their health needs. Primary and secondary care staff from across the legion were consulted, and a range of educational needs were identified for these professionals. Recommendations were made for health facilitators to support the primary and secondary care teams to enable improved access to mainstream health services for people with learning disabilities. The recommendations can be applied nationally.

England↗