1st Edition
An Essential Guide to Caring for People With a Learning Disability and Autistic People Enabling a Cross-Field Approach
This essential text presents the core information that all nursing students and apprentices along with other key health and social care professions, regardless of field, need to know about caring for people with a learning disability and autism. It outlines some of the key challenges faced by people with a learning disability and autism, and ways in which good care can improve their quality of life. People with a learning disability and autism are more likely to need support with aspects of everyday life, be marginalised within society, including within health and social care, and die younger than the rest of the population. They are also more likely to have additional communication needs, sensory processing difficulties and require significant support to access healthcare as well as other opportunities across the course of their lives.
This innovative text highlights the core knowledge that all health and social care professionals need and emphasises the benefits of learning across different fields of practice. It presents information about common conditions, key skills, and where a standard approach may need to be changed when caring for a person with a learning disability and autistic people. It demystifies key issues and commonly misunderstood concepts and topics including distressed behaviours, consent and reasonable adjustments. The book also focuses on addressing health inequalities, improving communication, understanding mental capacity and presents case studies throughout to illustrate how care can and should be delivered.
Written for all who aspire to understand the needs of these individuals and to deliver care as effectively as possible, this collaborative text brings together the voices of services users and their families and carers, with those of nurses, other health professionals, lecturers, and nursing students and apprentices.
Section 1 - Why have we written this book?
1 The People who inspired this book
Helen Jones, Samantha Salmon and Andrea Page
2 The Power of Words, Why Terminology Is Important
Andrea Page, Samantha Salmon and Helen Jones. With a contribution from Emmie Jeffrey.
3 The Learning Disability Nursing Student and Apprentice Voice Samantha Salmon, Christine Cooper, Jamie White, Blessing Taiwo and Jemima Tandoh
4 About me and how I became Chief Executive of All Wales People First
Joe Powell
5 Learning from Lives and Deaths of People with Learning Disability and Autistic People – the National LeDeR Programme in practice
Katie Meah
Section 2: Lived experiences and professional insights: understanding care and treatment for people with learning disabilities and autistic people
6 Inclusive Communication: Creating Positive Outcomes - A Mother’s Lived Experience
Amanda Glennon
7 Autism and Learning Disabilities
Linda Woodcock
8 Nursing Observations and people with a learning disability: considerations
Dr Helen Clarke, Melanie Wakeman, Dr Andrea Page and Samantha Salmon
9 Protection of Body Shape
Sarah Clayton and Anna Goldsmith
10 Considerations for delivery of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and choking management to people with profound and multiple learning disability and wheelchair users
Elisha Deegan, Dr Andrea Page and Dr Stefan Cash
11 Clinical holding
Dr Andrea Page, Alison Warren and Dr Helen Jones
12 The importance of equity and accessibility: radiotherapy treatment for people with cancer and learning disability
Kate Chadwick
13 Managing distressed behaviours in health care settings: applying low arousal approaches
Professor Andy McDonnell
14 Conditions that all nurses and allied health professionals need to be aware of in people with learning disabilities
Ruth Hirst, Sheryl King and Victoria Moloney
15 Epilepsy and individuals with a learning disability
Dr Helen Jones
16 Learning Disabilities and Stroke
Sarah Davies
17 The Mental Capacity Act and Consent
Dr Helen Jones
18 Transforming Care and mental health support for people with a learning disability
Farzana Follows
19 An Exploration of the Equality Act and Making Reasonable Adjustments
Dr Andrea Page, Dr Helen Jones, Sally-Anne Dicken and Samantha Salmon
20 Undercover Documentaries: An Insider View #
Professor Andy McDonnell
Section 3 Responding to Inequality and Inequity
21 Introduction - We are nursing in an imperfect world
Nikita Garrick
22 We are nursing in an imperfect world – reflections on the importance of staffing and skill mix
Sonia Allibone
23 Medication and diet in individuals with a learning disability
Baldwin Ngambi and Lee Vessey
24 Mental Capacity, Communication and Advocacy for People living with learning disabilities
Olumide Dada
25 A reflection on communication and the use of hospital passports within an acute hospital setting
Debbie Marsh
Chapter 26 The Last Word for now…
Andrea Page, Samantha Salmon and Helen Jones
Biography
Helen Jones is a registered nurse for people with a learning disability and currently Head of Learning Disability and Autism at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust.
Andrea Page is a registered nurse for people with a learning disability and Associate Professor at Birmingham City University.
Samantha Salmon is a registered nurse for people with a learning disability and Senior Lecturer at Birmingham City University.
