Disabled parents' involvement in their children's education : an examination of good practice. Summary for parents

This leaflet sets out the main findings from research about disabled parents' involvement in their children's education. The research, completed in August 2009, was conducted by a team from Strathclyde University

Disabled parents' involvement in their children's education: an examination of good practice

This report comes at the end of an 11 month study exploring disabled parents' experiences of involvement in their children's education. Supporting parents' participation in their children's schooling has been a government goal for decades. However, previous research has shown that some groups of parents face particular barriers to involvement. This includes disabled parents - although few studies (Joseph Rowntree Foundation 20031, Wates 20042, Morris 20043, Robinson et al4) have focused on their experiences. The focus of this research is very much on identifying and exploring examples of good practice in involving disabled parents within schools and local education authorities. These case studies of individuals' positive experiences are set alongside a review of relevant literature, a critical analysis of wider policy and practice frameworks across the UK, and an analysis of key informant interviews. The report begins with a brief resumé of the project aims and methods. It goes on to present the key findings of the research and finishes with a conclusion which draws out implications for policy and practice

Talking about learning disability: promoting positive perceptions of people with intellectual disabilities in Scottish schools

Pupils with intellectual disabilities are one of the most bullied groups in the school system and in local communities. Moreover, young people also play a significant role in hate crimes against people with intellectual disabilities of all ages beyond the school gates. This paper describes the development of a research informed program of lessons for children in mainstream secondary schools, aimed at counteracting bullying towards people with intellectual disabilities by promoting empathy and more positive attitudes towards them. A literature review, a review of current practice, and the experiences and views of young people with intellectual disabilities and their families all contributed to the development of the program. Data from subsequent piloting and feasibility work were used to finalize the program which consists of the following five lessons concerning: (i) difference and disability, (ii) an understanding of intellectual disability, (iii) the nature and impact of disablist bullying towards people with intellectual disabilities, and (iv) opportunities for inclusion. One conclusion from this work is that that there needs to be further research to explore the impact of school-based interventions, promoting an understanding of people with intellectual disabilities, in the wider community. Teachers delivering the lessons may have greater influence than transitory campaigns to counteract bullying and promote positive attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities. However, a first step is to ensure that teachers delivering the lessons have an understanding of people with intellectual disabilities

Disabled parents' involvement in their children's education: looking at good practice: Accessible Summary

This research project looked at how disabled parents, including people with learning disabilities, are involved in their children's education. This could be helping children with homework, going to parents' evenings at school, helping out in the classroom or on school trips, or being part of a parents' group. Children do better at school when their parents are involved in lots of different ways

Health and healthcare of people with learning disabilities in the United Kingdom through the COVID-19 pandemic

Background During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, many health services were withdrawn from people with learning disabilities, with negative impacts on people's health. What has happened to people's health and healthcare as we move beyond the pandemic? Methods Access to health services and health status were tracked for 550 UK adults with learning disabilities, using structured online interviews with people with learning disabilities and online surveys with family members or paid carers. Information was provided four times, from Wave 1 (in the winter 2020/2021 ‘lockdown’) to Wave 4 (autumn 2022, over a year after public health protections stopped). Findings By Wave 4, most people with learning disabilities had had COVID-19, although high vaccination rates limited the number of people hospitalised. There was little evidence that use of GP services, community nurses, other therapists or annual health checks had increased over time, and at Wave 4 more people were having difficulty getting their medicines. People's health did not substantially improve over time. People with profound and multiple learning disabilities had poorer health and were less likely to be accessing health services. Conclusions Improvements in access to health services for people with learning disabilities after the pandemic have not yet happened

Coronavirus and people with learning disabilities study: Wave 4 Results: February 2023 (Full Report)

There are approximately 1.5 million people with learning (intellectual) disabilities across the UK. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, data indicated that people with learning disabilities were more likely to contract COVID-19, have a more severe case of COVID-19, and were at least three times more likely than people without learning disabilities to die from COVID-19. People with learning disabilities are a very diverse group; while some people need 24-hour support others have limited or no social care support. Inequalities in health, wellbeing, social isolation, employment and poverty that existed before COVID-19, along with separation from family and friends and changes to routines, may have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. User-led organisations, families and social care support providers reported and continue to report multiple challenges associated with social restrictions, maintaining infection control, and the provision of social care support to people and families. There have also been geographical variations in social and health care services’ responses to COVID-19; in terms of both how and whether people receive support. We have written about these issues in earlier reports from the project. Large-scale COVID-19 surveys, with their general population remit, used methods (e.g., online surveys) likely to exclude most people with learning disabilities. Even when these surveys were nationally representative, they did not include sufficient numbers of people with learning disabilities to allow for meaningful analysis across different parts of the UK. They also did not have the flexibility to ask questions of specific relevance to people with learning disabilities. These larger surveys were typically being carried out without the specific resources and expertise that would enable the direct interview methods, with adapted questions and trained interviewers, needed for people with learning disabilities to participate. The project reported here uses these direct interview methods and was designed to systematically and responsively track the experiences of adults with learning disabilities through the COVID-19 pandemic over time across the UK, and investigate swiftly actionable factors associated with better outcomes. For Wave 4 of the project, the research team continued to examine the ongoing impact of the pandemic on the lives of people with learning disabilities in the UK. However, by Wave 4 of the project (the focus in this report), the study also began to look more broadly at the current living circumstances of people with learning disabilities in the UK in the context of a pathway into recession and challenges for public services