How to
This section provides practical advice about relevant clinical skills. Most advice is written, but pictures also feature, including some from the Books Beyond Words series. See also:
Learning Disabilities and Homelessness. This toolkit is a starting point in working towards good practice in supporting people with a learning disability, and signposts to further information and resources. and
This resource provides helpful information for people with learning disabilities who are moving home.
RCP Training Programme to meet the Medical Needs of Adults with a Learning Disability
Learning Disability Training in Primary Care Module
Animation around the challenges of people with learning disabilities in primary care: Short film based on real-life experiences of people with a learning disability, exploring their experience of accessing Primary Care services, and Annual Health Checks in particular.
Capacity Guide: comprehensive guidance for clinicians and social care professionals on the assessment of capacity
The toolkit to help support professionals working with individuals whose decision-making capacity is limited, fluctuating, absent or compromised
Articles
Clinical Communication
The General Medical Council consider effective and sensitive communication to be one of the "essentials of basic clinical method". "Doctors must be good listeners if they are to understand the problems of their patients and they must be able to provide advice and explanations that are comprehensible to patients and their relatives".
Health Guidelines for Adults with an Intellectual Disability
Nutritional well-being is recognised as an important factor in maximising growth potential, maintaining health, and improving quality of life and longevity.
Books Beyond Words: Telling the Whole Story in Pictures
Books Beyond Words are full-colour picture books that address some of the problems in understanding experienced by people with intellectual and communication difficulties.
Primary Care and Intellectual Disability
Advice for medical students and GPs
The Contribution of Actors with Intellectual Disabilities to the Training of Medical Students
In the past few years, more than 1,000 future doctors at St. George's, University of London, have benefited from training by actors with intellectual disabilities.
How To Look After My Balls
We have designed a leaflet to help men with learning disabilities to learn more about their balls (testicles) and how to look after them. It is important for every man to check regularly and to see his doctor immediately if he finds any changes.
Guidelines for Managing the Patient With Intellectual Disability in Accident and Emergency
A&E is generally a strange and unfamiliar environment for anyone. For persons with intellectual disabilities, the experience may be particularly scary because they may not understand what is happening around them.
Intensive Interaction: Using Body Language to Communicate
This technique facilitates positive engagement with children and adults, many of whom are on the autistic spectrum, and with whom communication is often difficult.
Your next patient in A&E may have an Intellectual Disability
Advice for medical students and staff in Accident & Emergency units.
Improving Hospital Experiences and Ensuring Safer Discharges
Interview with Jim Blair, Consultant Nurse in Learning Disabilities, by Alexander Chiu, Final Year Medical Student at St George’s University of London, and Dr Jason Tsang, Foundation Year 1 Doctor
Welcoming a patient with Intellectual Disabilities into General Practice: Reasonable Adjustments in Primary Care
An examination of reasonable adjustments in order to reduce health inequalities for people with learning disabilities. Although written in the context of the UK, the principles expressed are valid internationally.
Everybody’s life has worth – Getting it right in hospital for people with an intellectual disability and reducing clinical risks
This article addresses the need for reasonable adjustments, and other issues, by using examples of a hospital passport, assessing the mental capacity of a person, and how to improve care provided and reduce clinical risks for people with intellectual disability.
Life on the ward
This article is based on hospital experiences described by people with learning disabilities and includes suggestions provided by them as a result of sharing their ideas and experiences.
Getting it right for patients with an intellectual disability
The following presentations, one for adults and one for children/young people, can be adapted for use by a variety of healthcare organisations, by inserting the relevant information and contact details in the boxes provided.
Annual Health Checks for People with Intellectual Disabilities in General Practice
People with intellectual disabilities have poorer health than the general population and therefore Annual Health Checks have been introduced to improve this situation. This article highlights the reasons for the checks, the preparation involved for practice staff and the check itself.
The health needs of people with learning disabilities: issues and solutions
Many people with learning disabilities are not getting their annual health check, facing increased risk factors to a number of diseases as a result. This article considers what more can be done to help those most at risk.
Through our eyes: what parents want for their children from health professionals
Parents who are all experts by parental experience, talk about their experiences with health professionals, both positive and negative, and what would really help them and their children. Jim Blair provides summaries and suggestions for improvements for these families.
Refocusing: what you see isn’t all there is – getting healthcare right in hospitals for autistic and learning disabled people
Significant changes in how autistic people with a learning disability access and experience healthcare can and should be informed by stakeholders, including the patient and their family. This article provides different examples and suggestions from experts by parental experience.
The Health Equalities Framework (HEF): Prioritising clinical decisions and supporting the measurement of outcomes for people who have intellectual disabilities
There is increasing evidence that use of the Health Equalities Framework (HEF/HEF+) can positively influence timely and prioritised approaches that improve health and social outcomes for people who have intellectual disabilities.
Responsive Communication and Autism
The aim of Responsive Communication is to address deficits in both Functional Communication and Emotional Engagement. This article follows an earlier paper on Intensive Interaction, using body language to get in touch with children (and adults) with whom we struggle to interact.
Adapting a care quality tool for use in learning disability services
A tool that ensures care is safe, clean and personal every time was adapted for learning disability settings, leading to improvements in care.
Care of People with a Learning Disability in Primary Care
People with learning disability experience massive health inequality, so the role of GPs is vital in addressing this fundamental problem. Annual health checks are a very important part of this process.
Consent and people with an intellectual disability: The basics (2021)
In all areas of health care or social care, it is likely that you will encounter people with an intellectual disability, and it is essential to understand the principles of consent as applied to this population.
Physical health for people with learning disabilities: the role of primary care
This presentation was part of a panel discussion at the Psychiatry of Intellectual Disability Spring Conference of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, held in April 2022.
Bridging the gap: why reasonable adjustments and good communication are vital in healthcare settings
This article explores the importance of personalised care, the role of learning disability nurses, and the urgent need for better communication and proactive adjustments to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities.Â