assessment and treatment units

When the team behind the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) 5 redefined Asperger's Syndrome as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in 2013, it would spark a conflict that continues to rage. Here, Darren Devine speaks to one of the psychiatrists behind the controversial move.

In October next year, a new system known as the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) is expected to replace the current Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS). Yo Dunn, who will be speaking at Learning Disability Today London 2019, introduces the new system and highlights what questions remain unanswered.

Darren Devine asks whether telecare compromises quality.

On 31/10/19, we facilitated a #LDTchat on people with learning disabilities being excluded from autism research. Catch up on what was discussed here.

Today Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) condemns the “horrific reality” of conditions and treatment under which many young people with learning disabilities and autism are detained in mental health hospitals, “inflicting terrible suffering on those detained and causing anguish to their distraught families”.

Turning Point's Khushboo Gosai says young people often only see the 'glamorous side' of relationships and people with learning disabilities can be particularly vulnerable.

Many people with autism and learning disabilities are being overlooked by research. Charities, researchers, and campaigners say current studies are skewed towards the more able end of the spectrum, which can leave the most severely impacted excluded. 

If a person who has a learning disability is banging their head, being silent, or laughing it is not always easy to understand what is happening with and to them. In this article, Jim Blair (Learning Disability Nursing Project Lead at the Royal College of Nursing and Clinical Advisor for Learning Disabilities at the Queens Nursing Institute) considers the ways people with learning disabilities can be supported to access the healthcare treatment they deserve but denied all too often.

Edel Harris will be the next Chief Executive Officer of Royal Mencap Society. She is currently CEO of Cornerstone, one of Scotland’s leading charities, which provides a range of services to people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, autism, and dementia.

Interview: Working with non-verbal patients proved fundamental for helping Dr Stephen Moss produce universal mental disorder diagnostic interview scripts.