Sound and Vision: Reflections on running a community‐based group for men with learning disabilities online, during the pandemic

Abstract

Accessible summary To feel safe and to keep well, all of us need to stay in touch with our friends—most of all in the pandemic, and even more if we have a disability. In these times of COVID‐19, we have kept a community group for men with learning disabilities going online. In the gaps between lockdowns, we have met in a mixed online and face‐to‐face group—with the face‐to‐face part happening in a library. The men say that they have been helped by both kinds of meeting, but that they liked the mixed or “hybrid” one the best. This article shows what we have learned from running the group in these ways, and it gives advice for anyone who might want to have a go themselves. AbstractBackgroundSocial contact and belonging are among the most important keys to health and wellbeing, especially for the most vulnerable during the current global pandemic.MethodThis reflective paper describes the authors' efforts to sustain an online version of a well‐established community psychology‐oriented group for men with learning disabilities, in challenging times. Drawing upon the learning disability literature and upon theories from community and embodied‐dialogical psychology, it explores the most salient shared issues, our joint efforts to address them and possible implications for future clinical practice.FindingsTo take advantage of the discovered benefits of online working, we envisage that, post‐lockdown, the group will continue to meet in a “hybrid” (combined face‐to‐face and online form) as described herein: and with some pointers for anyone who might wish to create a similar group.

Creatively Adapting Touch-Based Practices to the Web Format During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Systematic Review

“…In total, 17 publications were included in this review. A detailed overview of the characteristics of the included studies can be found in Multimedia Appendix 2 [2,6,11,18,19,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. All study designs were considered; however, only qualitative studies were found to be relevant after the screening process.…”

“…Information about the study populations of all the included studies and their number of participants can be found in Table 3. [32] 56 (0.37) Patients undergoing chemotherapy Ben-Arye et al [6] 5 (0.03) Young adults with learning disabilities Datlen and Pandolfi [11] NR Web-based body psychotherapists Eve [39] 15,334 (100) Art therapists offering telehealth Feniger-Schaal et al [36] NR Audience members Gauhe [35] 10 (0.07) Physiotherapists who work with children Grant et al [33] NR Audience members Karam and Naguib [41] 2 (0.01) A couple in couple therapy Lord [34] 1185 (7.73) Allied health clinicians treating people with musculoskeletal conditions Malliaras et al [19] NR Men with learning disabilities Moloney et al [43] 59 (0.38) Participants aged ≥18 y capable of engaging in physical activity Rugh et al [2] NR Children and teenagers with a variety of mental health issues Snyder [42] NR Dance students Sieradzki and LeMarquand [37] 17 (0.11) Women working in the sport and fitness industry Thorpe et al [18] NR People displaced because of conflict, persecution, and poverty Usiskin and Lloyd [38] 15 (0.1) Adult-trained hospice nurses Weaver et al [40] a A total of 47% (8/17) of the studies had unspecified participant numbers.…”

“…Creatively adapted working methods to suit the new web-based format were identified and grouped into 5 recurring themes that are described in the following sections and summarized in Multimedia Appendix 3 [2,6,11,18,19,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. Studies contributing to each theme are shown in Multimedia Appendix 4 [2,6,11,18,19,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. A minimum of 29% (5/17) of the studies contributed to each theme.…”

“…Connecting external cameras allowed for a larger field of vision, and software tools such as QLab were used for a web-based theater production to control sound and video effects. A remote-control software was also used so that a member of the technical crew could log into another person's computer to control it over a distance [41,43]. During hybrid art therapy sessions, a projector and screen were used at the front of a room with dual webcam coverage to help create context and maintain flow for participants in other locations [43].…”

“…A remote-control software was also used so that a member of the technical crew could log into another person's computer to control it over a distance [41,43]. During hybrid art therapy sessions, a projector and screen were used at the front of a room with dual webcam coverage to help create context and maintain flow for participants in other locations [43].…”