The effect of diagnostic label on care staff's perceptions of cause of challenging behaviour in individuals with learning disabilities

Abstract

Accessible Summary We wanted to know what care staff felt about difficult behaviour displayed by people with autism, learning disabilities or Down syndrome. We asked many care staff who worked with people with disabilities to watch a video. The video was about a made up lady called Sophie. Sometimes Sophie was described as having autism, other times as having learning disabilities and sometimes as having Down syndrome. After staff members watched the video, we asked them how they felt about Sophie's difficult behaviour. Staff viewed Sophie's behaviour better when she was described as having autism and worst when she was described as having learning disabilities. We believe that staff should view all people equally regardless of the way they are described. We have used the information about this study to make recommendations about staff training. Abstract Background: This study investigated whether care staff's causal attributions and emotional reactions to the challenging behaviour displayed by service users were influenced by the service user's diagnostic label. Materials and Method: One hundred and twenty care staff were randomly allocated to one of three conditions. Participants viewed a video of a senior staff member describing a service user, varying only in diagnostic label (autism, learning disability or Down syndrome). Participants then rated their endorsement of possible causes and emotional reactions to challenging behaviour. Results: Participants in the Autism and Down syndrome groups made more use of biomedical causes and less use of learned behaviour as an explanation for challenging behaviour than those in the Learning Disabilities group. Those in the former groups reported more positive and fewer negative emotions than those in the Learning Disabilities group. Conclusions: The way staff viewed people with learning disabilities was affected by their diagnostic label. Implications for further research and training have been discussed.

Mothers’ perspectives on the lived experience of children with intellectual disability and challenging behaviour

“…Terminology stigmatizes individuals and identifies them as unpopular within services as discussed by the mothers within this study. While the term ‘challenging behaviour’ (Emerson 1995) was originally devised to signify the challenge to services of meeting individual need it has become a powerful and descriptive label (Gifford and Knott, 2016). The term is commonly used in current practice diagnostically to describe an individual and their presentation.…”

The effect of diagnostic labels on teachers' perceptions of behaviours of students with autism spectrum disorder

“…Those who were provided with the diagnostic label of ASD reported more positive behavioural and cognitive, but not affective attitudes towards the character than those who were not provided with such a label. Gifford and Knott (2016) conducted a similar study to examine the perceptions of care staff, regarding difficult behaviour displayed by people with ASD and learning and developmental disabilities. As with previous studies, participants were asked to view a description about an individual's behaviours, in which the individual was sometimes described as having ASD, other times as having learning disabilities and sometimes as having Down syndrome.…”

‘If I don’t Do It, I’m Out of Rhythm and I Can’t Focus As Well’: Positive and Negative Adult Interpretations of Therapies Aimed at ‘Fixing’ Their Restricted and Repetitive Behaviours in Childhood

“…Spencer et al, ( 2019 ) suggested that a collaborative therapeutic relationship involved clients playing an active role in decision making, recognising the client’s expertise and building trust. Gifford & Knott ( 2016 ) suggested that diagnostic labels affect care staffs’ perception and attribution of challenging behaviours in individuals with development disorders or learning disability, and the diagnostic label also affects care staffs’ emotional responses. Therefore, therapists should be mindful of their unconscious bias and attribution towards neurological and developmental differences.…”