Category: learning disabilities

global intellectual disability

learning disabilities, psychology, terminal careLeave a comment

‘What does psychology have to offer at end of life?’ – an EAPC re-blog

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

In her well-articulated article, Dr Jenny Strachan, Clinical Psychologist, Marie Curie Hospice, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, talks about what it is that psychology has to offer when there is no mental health problem to treat: The ‘science of mind and behaviour’ has many branches. Developmental psychology explores how our minds and behaviours are shaped by our early years’ experiences. Cognitive neuropsychology investigates how they are determined by the structure and functions of the brain. Social psychology considers the influence of the groups, large and small, in which we belong. If psychologists in palliative care stick to a narrow, ‘clinical’ interpretation of the role, … Continue reading ‘What does psychology have to offer at end of life?’ – an EAPC re-blog

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law, learning disabilities, vulnerable adultsLeave a comment

Can perpetrators be victims too?

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

Today there is a major outcry about what appears at face value to be extremely lenient sentencing of a paedophile and some extraordinary comments made by the prosecution about the child victim’s behaviour. The prosecutor Robert Colover was also criticised after he reportedly told the hearing: “The girl is predatory in all her actions and she is sexually experienced.” I listened to the phone-in on BBC radio 5Live where people with a great deal of experience of sexual abuse – some of them professionals in the field, others victims – were almost unanimous in their condemnation, with a few arguing somewhat … Continue reading Can perpetrators be victims too?

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language of health care, learning disabilities, patient6 Comments

Being Human: getting round the ‘them and us’ of clinical practice

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

Last week I popped into the optician’s to make an appointment for a routine eye test and I was asked if I was a patient there. Well, was I? A patient? Not before I stepped over the threshold, I thought, and I wasn’t ill. There were goods on sale, it looked like a shop and I wasn’t entirely convinced that I could be a patient in a shop. Maybe that sounds a little touchy – what’s wrong with being a patient if you’re receiving health care? Well the word, for a start. It implies passivity and dependence and not an … Continue reading Being Human: getting round the ‘them and us’ of clinical practice

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Bromley, learning disabilities, NHS: a trilogy in four parts, psychotherapy, vulnerable adults2 Comments

‘My Dad’s gone to Mars’ – when a star chart isn’t enough

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

It’s almost an affectation to say how much things have changed over these last few decades. A way of putting our hands on our collective hips and uttering the professional equivalent of  ‘When I were a lad …’, then shaking our heads in disbelief at the impact of modernity on treasured ways of doing things. Back in the good old days, psychologists were much more hands-on – demonstrating to bemused nurses how to teach an adult with intellectual disability (mental handicap as it was known) to feed themselves with a spoon.They would sit in rows of plastic seats as the live bait – Chris Cullen on one … Continue reading ‘My Dad’s gone to Mars’ – when a star chart isn’t enough

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academic, Brighton University, capacity to consent, high impact journal, Imperial College, learning disabilities, virtual world1 Comment

Using Virtual Reality to Provide Health Care Information to People With Intellectual Disabilities

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

It can take a long time to translate the uphill trek of the funding application into the enervating research you set out to do And afterwards, there seems to be an even longer trail towards placing an academic report of that work in a suitable publication.  The Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) is about as appropriate a positioning as we could have hoped for, with its focus on best use of technology in the interests of health. As you might expect, JMIR does not confine its publication to dry text, and so there are images drawn from the study, and even a video tour of the virtual environment. We are … Continue reading Using Virtual Reality to Provide Health Care Information to People With Intellectual Disabilities

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learning disabilities, MHID, Sussex PartnershipLeave a comment

IASSID MHID conference, Manchester

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

This three day event, bringing together the best of mental health and learning disability (intellectual disability) research and practice, opens on September 1st. I was expecting to deliver our presentation (Second Life, People with Learning Disabilities, and Capacity to Consent: Conboy-Hill, Taylor, and Hall) outlining the results of our NIHR funded study, but unfortunately, I am not able to attend for family reasons. Nicky Gregory, a courageous colleague, will be fronting it up for me, and hoping that all the technical wizardry does its job. If it does, she will be able to sit back and let it play. The videos will tell the story as well as anything; the narration should do … Continue reading IASSID MHID conference, Manchester

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academic, Brighton University, Imperial College, learning disabilities, NHS, Sussex Partnership, Wired for Health, Wired Sussex1 Comment

Wired for Health

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

This post was due up last week, then the news about Samantha Backler came through. She deserved her time in the spotlight. On March 17th, an extraordinary event took place at the Lighthouse in Brighton’s North Laines. The R&D department at Sussex Partnership has been developing ideas for projects – research and clinical practice – that seeks digital solutions to health care problems. Second Life is already a research environment for some of us, and more projects are either underway or at the work-up stage. We are also keen to capitalise on social media for communication with staff and service … Continue reading Wired for Health

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best interests, capacity to consent, health care, learning disabilities, mental capacity act 2005, vulnerable adultsLeave a comment

Samantha Backler – died of starvation

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

Samantha was a 29 year old woman with cerebral palsy who was in the sole care of her mother. It is thought that she died as a result of being unable to care for herself or to call for help when her mother died suddenly. This was in 2010. There had been concerns since 1998 after Mrs Wolf, Samantha’s mother, was admitted to hospital with mental health problems, after which support from GPs and social services was increasingly denied. Mrs Wolf, apparently, was afraid that Samantha would be taken away from her. (St Albans Review inquest report) I can understand … Continue reading Samantha Backler – died of starvation

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academic, learning disabilities, Sussex PartnershipLeave a comment

Positive psychology, learning disabilities, and digital imaging

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

Developing a bid with a colleague centred on transforming behaviour management for people with challenging behaviour into rewarding and affirming strategies. Positive psychology shifts the focus from what’s wrong to what’s good and helps people to get more of that. Digital imaging is a tool for both recording progress and also delivering the positive feedback. Now all we need is the funding! Continue reading Positive psychology, learning disabilities, and digital imaging

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