Adult learners with learning disabilities' motivation to succeed in higher education online learning during Covid-19

Many students had to transition to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic while other students were already enrolled in online education. Online study may hold additional struggles for students with learning disabilities. The problem addressed in this qualitative, phenomenological study was the motivating factors of online higher education students who have a learning disability during the COVID-19 pandemic. The theoretical foundation was Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Data were gathered through 10 semistructured interviews and then analyzed through the thematic analysis yielding five themes: (a) lack of professional support, (b) resources, (c) support system, (d) consistent motivation, and (e) low motivation. These findings showed that students needed support within families and educational institutions to continue to be successful in their schooling and motivated. Additionally, it showed that students needed resources to better help them succeed in their assignments. Implications for positive social change include better understanding of how students are motivated when doing online school despite the different challenges they may be experiencing. Additionally, this study may also contribute to social change by informing other students that they are not alone during the process of their education and that there are ways to continue to be motivated. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Changes after COVID-19 on welfare policies and services for people with learning disabilities and autism: A case study for England, United Kingdom

The aim of this chapter is to explore changes since the COVID-19 pandemic in welfare policies and services for people with learning disabilities and autism in England, focusing mainly on educational and health and social care sectors. A review of official policy documents published on GOV.UK from January 2020 to May 2021 has been conducted using keywords on the topic in question, and semi-structured interviews took place in 2022 with four key informants/stakeholders working in health and social care or education sectors of people with learning disability or autism in England. The main findings indicate a need to shift practices online due to the pandemic, for both education and health and social-care practice. It is also clear that reforms and adjustments were implemented in guidance, policies and frameworks for the support of persons with learning disabilities and autism. It has been increasingly difficult for people with disabilities to access healthcare services and medication during the pandemic, and this has had an impact on their overall health and wellbeing too. Experts suggested that smoother changes and more support are required, in terms of provision of services, research, access to healthcare, educational services, mental health, employment, as well as more public funding on such services for people with learning disabilities and autism. The main lessons learned were focusing on the use of online resources, digitalisation of services and access to them, but also difficulty of the system to adapt fast to major changes required in order to support people with disabilities. © 2023 Anjali Ghosh and Eleni Koutsogeorgou. All rights reserved.

International Nursing Actions to Reduce Health Inequities Faced by People with Intellectual andDevelopmental Disability

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted health inequities for people with intellectual and developmental disability (PWIDD). It was alsothe stimulus for an international group of nurse researchers with shared expertise and experience to create a Global IDD Nursing Collaboratory. Acollaboratory is a networked environment or "center without walls” where interaction oriented to common research areas occur without regard tophysical location. The overarching goal of this Global Nursing Collaboratory is to assure the highest quality of life for PWIDD across the lifespan.Applying their unique skills and expertise, nurses working across health and social contexts are often the bridge over the healthcare gapsencountered by PWIDD. This paper describes the potential practice, education, and research contributions nurses can make to reduce healthinequities experienced by PWIDD. We will examine how we talk about disability, the impact of the current COVID 19 crisis, and our educationalsystems which in some countries leave nurses and other health professionals ill prepared to meet the unique needs of this population We willdescribe the context, access issues, and health service organizations for and with PWIDD across countries to equip nurses with basic knowledge ofhealth care for PWIDD and energize meaningful improvement in delivery of this care. Importantly, we offer action steps for all nurses towardreducing stigma and health inequities related to living with an intellectual and developmental disability (IDD). © 2022,Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. All Rights Reserved.

"I'm a man now”: Using Narrative Therapy to support an adult with Down syndrome transition to a new life

Background: Residential transitions have long been recognised as challenging for people with learning disabilities and can be packed with problem stories. Narrative Therapy practices have the potential to centre the voice of people with learning disabilities;to enable alternative stories to be told;and to shine a light on their own and their support system's resources for change. Methods: Colin, a 36-year-old man with Down syndrome and a learning disability, met with the first author for nine sessions. Narrative Therapy practices (also drawing on systemic ideas) were used, including the Tree of Life, Outsider Witness Practice, Therapeutic Documentation and Definitional Ceremony. Feedback from Colin and the staff team was gathered through qualitative and quantitative means. Findings: Colin was keen to share his life stories and explored ideas about his "new life”, wanting to "stay strong” and "stay happy”. Staff noted an improvement in household stress and perceived ability to support Colin. An improvement in quality of life was also demonstrated with a self-report questionnaire. Conclusions: By acknowledging the power of language, narrative practices offer tools to help people with learning disabilities and their support system in making sense of and navigating important life transitions. © 2023 The Authors. British Journal of Learning Disabilities published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Perspective of Administrators of Intellectual Disability Organizations on the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: To learn about the challenges, policies, and needed resources to serve people with intellectual disability and protect staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. From the perspective of intellectual disability service providers. METHODS: We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 16 intellectual disability organization administrators throughout Illinois, USA from November 2020 through February 2021. We coded and analyzed the data using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Three major themes emerged: (1) COVID-19 caused considerable challenges to people with intellectual disability and staff and service providers, (2) intellectual disability organizations reinvented service provisions in response to COVID-19 challenges, and (3) the interrelatedness of intellectual disability organizations, public policies, and community entities became evident. CONCLUSIONS: Exhibiting responsiveness to needs and developing innovative solutions were strategies championed by intellectual disability organizations during the pandemic. Fostering collaboration with community entities may assist these organizations in navigating pandemic challenges and developing resilient infrastructure for future environmental threats.

Debilitating landscapes of care and support: envisaging alternative futures

This paper explores the impact of policy changes and budget cuts on services and support faced by people with learning disabilities. Drawing upon collaborative research in England and Scotland and interviews with commissioners and support organisations, we show how landscapes of care and support are unstable and fragmented. We identify how pressures of time, resource and precaritisation in the workforce are creating ‘debilitating landscapes of care' that further erode the capacities of both the people that work in the sector and people with learning disabilities. Some challenges that people with learning disabilities face in this context include finding appropriate local support, narrowing access as a result of reductions in benefit entitlements and identifying quality providers amid a complex array of private and charitable provision. Capacity to cope with these challenges is contingent on access to quality advocacy, supportive family, friendships, productive occupational learning environments and peer support, but these are not always available. The impact of COVID-19 has only served to intensify some of the issues we identify and the urgent need for a response. Our analysis is inspired by Berlant's (2007) conception of ‘slow-death' and Puar's (2017) associated conceptualisation of ‘debility'. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Our role is vital in rebuilding the lives of people with learning disabilities

Nurses working with people with learning disabilities face new challenges as we move out of the COVID-19 pandemic and life begins to take on some semblance of normality.

Supporting the mental health of children and young people with learning disabilities during COVID-19

Why you should read this article:• To be aware of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental and physical health of children and young people with learning disabilities• To learn about how one CAMHS learning disabilities team supported the mental health of children and young people during the COVID-19 pandemic• To recognise that innovative and flexible services are required to meet the complex needs of children and young people with learning disabilitiesThis article explores the authors' experiences of supporting the mental health of children and young people with learning disabilities during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The article discusses the prevalence of and risk factors for the development of mental health issues in this group. It also describes some service improvement projects developed by a child and adolescent mental health service learning disabilities team to support the mental health needs of children and young people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article includes a case study to illustrate how a flexible and person-centred approach can support the mental health of this population.

Whose uncertainty? Learning disability research in a time of COVID-19

UK government responses to COVID-19 have intensified experiences of uncertainty for people with learning disabilities. The pandemic has eroded the support people receive, previously weakened by austerity measures. In research, COVID-19 related uncertainty has led to some reworking of methods and intensive contingency planning. This was to fulfil funding requirements and was underpinned by research teams' commitment to continuing research with people with learning disabilities not despite, but because of the pandemic. This is in a context where people with learning disabilities have been systemically excluded from research participation. Here, we reflect on these processes in relation to a project exploring how to improve the support for older people with learning disabilities. We consider the distribution of uncertainty in relation to conducting research during this time and ask whose uncertainty is attended to in these mid- and post-pandemic methodological debates and why. We suggest pandemic ‘disruption' has created space for critical reflection allowing methodological creativity and consideration of in between strategies of trust, intuition, and emotion. We caution against the re-constraining of this space, instead arguing for continuing flexibility and creativity, where uncertainties are shared rather than used as a tool of control or dismissal of claims to support. [ FROM AUTHOR]

Long-COVID in people with intellectual disabilities: A call for research of a neglected area.

Background: Long-COVID (also known as post-coronavirus-19 syndrome) is a term used to describe symptoms that people experience following their recovery from the COVID-19 virus. The severity of long-COVID is well recognised, with healthcare providers commissioning services to diagnose and treat those affected, as well as funded research into the condition. Methods: We performed a systematic search for relevant articles but were unable to find any research on long-COVID in people with intellectual disabilities. Due to the lack of data, we have only been able to make extrapolations from what is known about the condition within the general population. Findings: We provide an overview of long-COVID and its potential relevance to people with an intellectual disability. We have focused specifically on symptoms or signs, prevalence, risk factors and treatments of the condition in this group, highlighting areas for clinical practice and future research from a psychosocial perspective. We raise serious questions about our current understanding and the availability of the evidence-based to inform treatments tailored towards this population. Conclusion: This is the first report that we are aware of on the topic of long-COVID in people with an intellectual disability. The lack of research is preventing us from gaining a greater understanding of how the condition impacts people with an intellectual disability.

Surviving through story: Experiences of people with learning disabilities in the covid19 pandemic 2020-2021.

Background: History starts from where we are now - it is not just things that happened a long time ago. The global pandemic began in 2019. It has changed the lives of people with learning disabilities. We began our project during the first lockdown in April 2020. We came together to set up a website to collect stories and support and learn from each other about how to survive and keep strong. Storytelling is very important because it helps us understand what is going on. It is also a way to capture the history of people with learning disabilities at a very difficult time. We know that thousands of people with learning disabilities became ill and died in the flu epidemic of 1918. But nobody recorded their stories in their own words. We want to make sure this does not happen again, so we created an archive to help us remember. Methods: The project was managed with an advisory group of people with and without learning disabilities who met monthly to monitor the collection and analysis of stories on the site. A site audit was performed regularly to determine the themes in the stories and who had submitted. The article describes the progress of the project, the stories we have shared, and the challenges we have faced. Conclusions: We discuss how people with learning disabilities have been presented in the media and our views about the way we are not heard, or always shown as vulnerable victims. We have found many sad stories, but also positive ones about people being creative and supportive. We look forward to the future and share our ideas about how society could be different and more inclusive. Being part of this project has given us confidence to know we are not alone, and shown us how we can help with the recovery.

Investigating the experience of professional carers supporting individuals with intellectual disability who were at risk of admission – a qualitative study

Purpose: This study aims to understand the experiences of professional paid carers providing community support to people with intellectual disability "at risk of admission”. This study explores factors that were helpful or lacking in terms of the support the carers received from NHS health services during this time. Design/methodology/approach: This study conducted semi-structured interview with eight participants. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings: Three main themes and ten subthemes were identified. The first main theme was "support systems” that were available or lacking for the client and their carers. The second main theme was "training and supervision” available to the carers and their team when the individual they supported needed additional support. The third theme was "change” clients encountered which included changes in the environment as well as changes because of COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study on experiences of carers during specifically high stress periods, such as when the clients they are supporting are at risk of hospital admission. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Neurodiverse undergraduate psychology students' experiences of presentations in education and employment

PurposeAudio-visual presentations - delivered either in real-life or virtually - feature heavily in educational assessments and employer recruitment. This study explored neurodivergent undergraduate students' experiences of presentations. The aim was to understand how neurodivergent students describe experiences of presentations in educational and workplace contexts and how neurodivergent students experienced training, support activities and learning technologies associated with presentations.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory qualitative phenomenological approach was taken, from students' perspectives. Overall, 12 neurodivergent undergraduate students (M-age = 21.89 years, SDage = 2.57;nine women, two men, one non-binary) discussed their experiences of presentations within educational and/or professional contexts via semi-structured remote interviews. The sample included individuals with diagnoses of anxiety, depression, dyslexia, borderline personality disorder, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, and panic disorder.FindingsThematic Analysis of interview transcript data revealed four main themes (with sub-themes in parentheses): Control (preparedness;delivery);Audience Perceptions and Behaviours (expectations of "normality";shared knowledge;audience "expertise");Intervention Efficacy (early access;individuality;learning technologies) and Value of Presentation Skills (reciprocity between education - workplace;self-efficacy;self-esteem;learner development).Research limitations/implicationsThe dataset was extracted from a relatively small sample from a single university and indeed a single academic discipline. Furthermore, the dataset was collected during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic - although this gives us a valuable snapshot of students' experiences and perceptions during this time, whether the author can extrapolate these findings in future is unclear.Practical implicationsThe findings help understand how we better support students. Better ways to support learners can be developed in developing presentation and audience skills. This research shows that alternative assessment provisions must be based on individuals and their own specific needs and skills, rather than their divergence label. This research can inform the development of digital learning technologies.Social implicationsThis research can inform how educators, coaches, trainers, and facilitators "train" audiences to be more inclusive and less prejudicial/biased. We can understand how to better construct social spaces for presentations, in the classroom and the world of work.Originality/valueThis report presents a valid and valuable methodological approach, conducted and reported transparently. This research was conducted during a crucial, unprecedented and precarious time period for learners and education professionals. Implications are considered with respect to the design of teaching, learning and assessment activities;facilitator, learner, and peer behaviours;the role of digital learning technologies;and employment/employability.

Parental Resources in Parents of Children with Special Needs (SNs) at the Time of COVID-19.

Background. The limitations imposed by governments for containing the spread of COVID-19 have affected familial relationships, especially those of families dealing with children with special needs or chronic illness conditions. The current study aims to better understand what pathological/disability condition has impacted parental resources, sense of competence, and perception of children's executive functioning the most. Methods. A sample of 648 parents was asked to answer a survey assessing children's condition (typical development, specific learning disorder, autism spectrum syndrome, chronic illness), parental resources, parenting sense of competence (distinguished into parental satisfaction and self-efficacy), and parents' perception of their children's executive functioning. A MANOVA model was performed to assess differences in parental resources, sense of competence, and perception of the children's executive functions according to their condition. A path analysis model was performed to examine the impact of sense of competence and children's condition on parental resources and children's executive functions. Results. Parents with children with specific learning disorder reported lower scores of parental resources in terms of total scores, common antecedents, and specific antecedents compared to parents with typically developed children (total scores: MD = 56.45, p < 0.001; common antecedents: MD = 22.28, p < 0.00; specific antecedents: MD = 34.17, p < 0.001), parents with autistic children (total scores: MD = 62.79, p = 0.01; common antecedents: MD = 24.03, p = 0.01; specific antecedents: MD = 38.76, p = 0.02) and parents of children with chronic illness (total scores: MD = 37.42, p = 0.04; common antecedents: MD = 16.59, p = 0.01). The path analysis model shows a direct effect of parental satisfaction (ß = 0.26) and pathology/disability (ß = −0.10) on parental resources that, in turn, influence parents' perception of their children's executive functioning (ß = 0.24). Conclusion. Although no data about the prepandemic situation is available, the current study highlights that parental stress influence children's cognition. Moreover, parents of children with special needs seemed to be challenged during COVID-19, especially parents of children with specific learning disorders, that are already stressed out by their children's condition. Therefore, academic services should undertake preventive measures to preserve parental well-being and to provide a supportive environment for children, especially for those with atypical development.

A survey on the use of remote consultation for people with intellectual disability: The experience of community intellectual disability teams

Background Since COVID-19, remote consultation (by telephone and video) has become widespread. This study investigated the experience of using remote consultation in Specialist Intellectual Disability Community services. Method A total of 126 health staff working across eight Specialist Intellectual Disability Community teams in the NHS Health Board of Greater Glasgow and Clyde were asked to complete a short Likert-scale survey about remote consultation. Results There were 61 (48%) respondents from a range of disciplines. Overall, respondents were positive about remote consultation but found it was often inadequate to complete a full patient assessment. Moving forwards, respondents wanted around 60% of all consultations to remain face-to-face. It was significantly more difficult to engage and communicate with patients with more severe levels of disability. Conclusions Remote consultation has been successful, but there is still a need for face-to-face assessment in intellectual disability services, particularly when working with people with more severe levels of disability. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The ‘Coping with COVID-19’ Newsletter: People with learning disabilities share their stories through collective narrative documents

We begin this article by reviewing some of the common discourses relating to people with learning disabilities across the Covid-19 pandemic. We then discuss some of the narratives that we have observed people with learning disabilities creating about themselves across the Covid-19 pandemic. We go on to discuss a project aimed at documenting some of these narratives. We reflect on the communication models and collective narrative practices used in the project as well as how these were adapted to meet the needs of people with learning disabilities. We conclude this article with reflections on the effects and outcomes of this project. © 2022, British Psychological Society. All rights reserved.

How one acute hospital responded to COVID-19 in people with learning disabilities

Why you should read this article: • To understand the vulnerability of people with learning disabilities to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) • To find out about COVID-19-related deaths in patients with learning disabilities at one hospital • To enhance your awareness of the need to obtain more clinical awareness of the needs of the learning disability population There is evidence that people with learning disabilities are more vulnerable to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than the general population, but there is a need to understand better how COVID-19 has affected that patient group. This article details a retrospective comparison study exploring the response of one acute hospital to COVID-19 in the learning disability population. A wide range of data were collected for the period between March 2020 and March 2021 about patients with learning disabilities, including admissions and deaths, do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR) orders, ceilings of care and input from the learning disabilities acute liaison team. Data from the five years preceding the study were also collected. These data were compared with data about the general population, in the hospital and nationally. The data show that there had been no significant increase in the number of deaths of people with learning disabilities at the hospital during the first 13 months of the pandemic. However, this could be because fewer people attended hospital and more died in the community. Wider and more in-depth investigation is needed to understand the factors that may increase the risk of COVID-19-related death for people with learning disabilities. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Learning Disability Practice is the property of RNCi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT): the impact of service changes due to COVID-19 on people with learning disabilities

Purpose Primary care psychological interventions for people with common mental health problems in England are primarily delivered through Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services. People with learning disabilities within IAPT have poorer key clinical outcomes than people who do not identify as having a learning disability. During the global COVID-19 pandemic remote consultations have accounted for nearly 90% of all contacts in IAPT services;this paper aims to report the effects of these on outcomes for people with learning disabilities. Design/methodology/approach Publicly available national data from the COVID-affected period are compared to the most recent available comparison periods that are not during the COVID pandemic. Data are presented graphically. Findings People with learning disabilities differ little from those with no disabilities on several key process and outcome variables, although their clinical recovery is very much lower than those without disabilities. People with learning disabilities appear to have been affected by the changes in service delivery in a similar way to those without learning disabilities. Originality/value Despite the shift to predominantly remote therapy delivery, outcomes for people with learning disabilities have not been differentially affected compared to those who have no recorded disability. The potential to learn what has worked and not worked in the delivery of remote interventions for people with learning disabilities is highlighted.

Compassion‐focused therapy group for men with intellectual disabilities who had maladaptive conceptualisations of masculinity

Purpose>The purpose of this paper is to determine the effectiveness of an adapted compassion-focused therapy (CFT) group treatment programme for individuals with an intellectual disability (ID), specifically aimed to help address maladaptive conceptualisations of masculinity.Design/methodology/approach>Outcome measurements were competed at pre- and post-group and the effectiveness of the intervention were assessed using a Wilcoxon signed ranks test.Findings>Findings demonstrated that the treatment group showed significant differences in their “gender role conflict” subscales including the Success, Power, Control and “Restrictive Affectionate Behavior Between Men” subscales;however, no significant differences were found on the Restrictive Emotionality or Conflicts Between Work and Leisure subscales. Furthermore, no significant differences were found on participants psychological well-being, psychological distress, anxiety, self-compassion or quality of life measures.Research limitations/implications>Limitations include that a lack of qualitative information regarding outcomes, a lack of control group and a small number of participants may have impacted the outcome of the research.Practical implications>The Men’s Masculinity group had a positive impact on the participant’s sense of success, power and control, so it could be considered that this group enabled participants to feel more powerful and in control of their difficulties which is associated with the “drive” system of CFT.Originality/value>Overall, this study adds to the small but growing literature that supports using CFT groups as a stand-alone psychological intervention when working with people with an ID.