Background: Under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, disabled people have the right to participate in all decisions that affect their lives, be they in any segment of legislation, policy or practice. The academic world is no exception. Methods: The authors are members of an inclusive academic team, including a colleague…

Background: Arts and culture have proven benefits. However, access to arts and culture is not consistent. For people with learning disabilities, arts and culture are often considered therapeutic activities, and therefore, the needs of people with learning disabilities in accessing mainstream arts and culture are often overlooked. This research…

Background: Speech and language therapists (SLTs) contribute to communication with adults with learning disabilities by providing training to the networks that support them. The requirements for successful communication with this population are frequently complex and necessitate an effective training medium to transfer the target knowledge and…

Between 10% and 15% of people with a learning disability have behaviour that challenges others, and half of these people live within the family home (Emerson et al., "Research in Developmental Disabilities," 2001; 22, 77). Current best practice in managing challenging behaviour combines person-centred planning, functional analysis, and…

This paper aims to describe the process undertaken by Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy to assess a gentleman with learning disabilities and visual impairment with regard to his capacity to sign a tenancy agreement. It describes the method used to assess the gentleman's mental capacity before exploring the system used to provide…

This case study demonstrates the effectiveness of a classroom based learning programme in the acquisition of road safety skills. The participant, a child with severe learning disabilities, was taught road safety behaviours in the classroom with the aid of photograph cards. When he had mastered these skills in the classroom, he returned to the…

A woman with Down syndrome, who had shown selective mutism for more than 14 years, successfully participated in a program designed to reinforce communication and gradually increase the number of words spoken to one person and then to others. Nonaversive behavior methods were used and response initiative procedures were developed. (Contains…