Twenty‐one South Asian adolescents and adults with intellectual disabilities were interviewed regarding eight areas of their lives: accommodation, individual support, day services, service support, social and recreational activities, friendships and relationships, ethnic and racial identity, and racism and stigma. All interviews were coded for user satisfaction with these aspects of their lives, and content‐analysed to draw out relevant themes. From the interviews, it is clear that South Asian adolescents and adults have a strong and positive sense of their ethnic and racial identity, and that they are generally satisfied with their home and family circumstances. However, people with intellectual disabilities from South Asian communities experience pervasive racism and stigma throughout all areas of their lives. Consequences of this double discrimination include a lack of culturally appropriate services, limited friendships and closer relationships, and a lack of meaningful leisure activities. Implications of these findings for services are discussed.
Age-specific prevalence rates for learning disabilities among the Asian communities in three Metropolitan Boroughs in the North of England are presented. These data indicate that: (1) below school age there is little difference in the apparent prevalence of severe learning disabilities between the Asian and non-Asian communities; (2) between 5 and 34 years of age, however, the apparent prevalence of severe learning disabilities is approximately three times higher among the Asian community when compared with the non-Asian community.
• People with learning disabilities (LD) are at greater risk of experiencing mental health conditions, which may be made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic.• This article investigated the utility of a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)-based group programme delivered virtually to service users with LD during the first wave of the pandemic.• This group intervention was found to have potential promise in being effective in helping service users better manage their symptoms and reduce levels of anxiety and low mood.• The group programme has highlighted some benefits of remote delivery of CBT-based interventions, which can be implemented as an alternative to face-to-face clinical input for some service users.
Although cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is recommended for the treatment of a number of mental disorders among the general population, the ability of individuals with learning disabilities (LD) to understand CBT concepts and engage in CBT has been questioned. Aims: To examine whether specific prerequisite skills for CBT can be taught to people with LD using a newly developed training intervention and to investigate the acceptability of the intervention. Method: The study adopted a within-subjects case series research design. Quantitative assessment methods were used to evaluate the CBT skills of six adults with mild to moderate LD pre-intervention, following intervention and at 1-week follow-up. Participants were also asked to provide some qualitative feedback about how they had experienced the intervention. Results: The cognitive mediation skills and the ability of most participants to link activating events to emotions increased following intervention training and this improvement was maintained for four of them at follow-up. The feedback of participants regarding the process and content of the task demands was positive. Conclusions: The findings suggest that people with LD can learn some of the skills considered necessary to participate in CBT, such as cognitive mediation. However, further and more robust research is required to substantiate these findings.
Accessible summary• This research tried to find out how good services were for people with learning disabilities who are from minority ethnic communities. • A questionnaire was sent to learning disability services in the North West of England. • The answers in the questionnaires told us that changes in the law and guidelines help to make sure the right services are provided for people from minority ethnic communities. • Many services did not have special policies to follow but just relied on good managers and staff to ensure services were provided to people from ethnic minority communities. • Provision of services for people with learning disabilities from minority ethnic communities is still not given enough importance.
SummaryThis article reports the results of a postal questionnaire survey carried out to explore the responsiveness and appropriateness of services for people with learning disabilities from minority ethnic communities in the North West of England. Twenty-one learning disability service commissioners or service providers completed the questionnaire. Results indicated that services were influenced by legislation and guidelines which help services develop specific programmes. Organizational culture also played a role in how services respond. Respondents reported that a variety of new services were currently being developed. Individual staff members and good organizational support were most cited as the factors that facilitate effective policies, practices, and procedures whereas problems regarding funding were most frequently cited as barriers. The respondents detailed evidence of some work being carried out at the grass roots level, but the responses indicate that a core theme is the marginalization of the issue of meeting the needs of people from minority ethnic groups.
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