research blogs

Supporters say animal-assisted intervention for autism bolsters social skills and provides unconditional companionship. But what does scientific research reveal about the value of spending time with a furry friend? 

Studies have revealed symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in around two thirds of autistic people. But are autism and ADHD symptoms of the same underlying condition? Academic Dr Simon Bignell has questioned whether autism and ADHD may be “one overarching disorder with a range of subtypes”

Darren Devine asks whether telecare compromises quality.

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.

Filmmaker Beth Richards conducted research into how the television industry can be made more accessible for actors with learning disabilities. In this blog, she tells Learning Disability Today how her research findings informed her short animated film 'The Audition' which is being shown at Oska Bright Film Festival. 

Women with learning disabilities and autism are almost four times less likely to go for cervical cancer screening tests. Here, Darren Devine looks at the efforts being made to reverse one of the most stark health inequalities affecting potentially vulnerable women.

Trials are underway for a wristband that monitors physiological changes that may precede aggression. Darren Devine discusses how such technology could change the lives of autistic people, their families, and their carers.

Darren Devine discusses the widespread nature of the use of restraint and seclusion in schools for learning disabled children, and speaks to those campaigning to change this. 

Tim Nicholls, Head of Policy at the National Autistic Society, discusses what the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act means for autistic people.