This article summarises some key pieces of research in the learning disability and autism field over recent weeks. This includes studies on how adults with learning disabilities are coping with the shift to a cashless society, game based interventions for autistic children and youth, alterative communication methods for people with severe or profound learning disabilities, and the prevalence of autistic women in female prisons.
For those reliant on cash, the shift to a ‘cashless society’ is likely to pose challenges and exacerbate ‘digital financial exclusion’. People with learning disabilities have a greater dependence on cash transactions, so Watts, Hoskin, Upadhyay et al conducted a study to find out how this shift is affecting them.
The researchers interviewed 40 people with learning disabilities across three day services in East London and analysed the data. Four key themes emerged from the research:
The preference for cash was not uniform, with some participants preferring to use their card as they forget to regularly go to the cash point, while others said it is much easier to budget with cash and they felt ‘shocked, angry and upset’ when they were unable to do so.
Many participants expressed a lack of confidence and fear around digital banking. Some participants spoke about forgetting their PIN number and how they felt at risk of financial exploitation by using digital banking methods, with many saying they would benefit from digital finance training.
Some participants spoke about how they have handed over control of their finances to a support worker or their parents because they have overspent in the past. The researchers say this highlights a critical tension between safeguarding and promoting independence for people with learning disabilities.
Banks themselves may be inaccessible for some people with disabilities, with one participant (who is a wheelchair user) saying she is unable to get into some buildings. Others spoke about how they felt excluded from banks as staff often do not have enough awareness about their needs, and how online banking platforms often pose accessibility challenges.
The researchers say the findings show that while digital payments can be helpful, they can also be difficult for some people with learning disabilities, and they need more support to use these services. They say banks and financial services should make their digital tools easier for people with learning disabilities to use; this includes better training and more accessible services.
“This research is important because it helps us know how to support people with learning disabilities in managing their money in a digital world. It is important that everyone, including people with learning disabilities, can use money easily and safely,” they conclude.
While autistic people are reported to offend at lower or comparable rates to non-autistic people, autism is overrepresented within male prisons due to a number of reasons including an increased chance of being caught and a lack of autistic sensitive interventions which lead to longer stays in prison. However, until now, prevalence data was only available for autistic men, with no research available on female autistic prisoners.
Research by Payne and Gooding therefore set out to provide the prison-reported rate of autistic female prisoners currently residing in the female prison estate in England. All 12 of the female prisons in England were asked to provide information on the total number of autistic females.
The researchers found an English female prison-reported rate of autism of 4.78%. This figure is 13.7 times higher than the female autism prevalence in the general population, suggesting that autistic females may be at greater risk of being overrepresented within the prison estate.
There is limited research on female autistic offender participants, but the male dominated autistic offender research identifies negative experiences within the Criminal Justice System (CJS). Experiences include vulnerability and bullying, with autistic offenders typically reporting an overall negative experience within the CJS in England and Wales.
Since non-offending autistic females are at heightened risk of negative comorbidities compared to males and they may imitate peers to try and fit into the social environment, the researchers say this may lead to increased difficulties and challenges for female autistic offenders.
However, given the limited female autistic offender research, the authors say there is a “clear gap in the evidence base” which must be addressed and investigated further.
People with severe or profound learning disabilities often have limited language abilities, meaning they may demonstrate more subtle communication behaviours such as eye gaze, body language and facial expressions.
A new study has focused on communication partners (the people who engage with the individual in an interaction i.e. family, friends or support workers) and their views on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) which can help people to communicate their thoughts and feelings. The sample included nine participants, with data collected using semi-structured interviews with open-ended question via Microsoft Teams.
The study found that AAC has the potential to support communication for individuals with severe/profound intellectual and multiple disabilities, with communication partners playing an important role in facilitating this.
The overarching theme ‘Maximising Communication through AAC’ captures participants’ agreement that their shared goal was to maximise the individuals’ communication, where they were hopeful that AAC would help them realise their goal. Three factors influencing this shared goal: (1) ‘Developing a Communicative Environment’, (2) ‘The Act of Communicating: Attempting to Realise the Individuals’ Ability’ and (3) ‘Living with Uncertainty’.
However, this was found to be difficult for many reasons including time and workloads, with many communication partners saying the individual’s voice needed to be heard more. The authors concluded that communication partners must provide communication opportunities that promote participation, and methods of AAC must be tailored to the individual to widen opportunities.
“It is recommended to train partners in AAC that supports the user’s individuality, explicitly inform them of their roles and responsibilities and prepare them for what to expect in terms of progress and timelines,” the researchers conclude.
There is growing interest in using games to help autistic children and youth learn social skills, yet there is no consensus on the best way to design these games to ensure they are effective and learning opportunities are maximised.
Walsh, Linehan and Ryan therefore set out to fill this gap and identify which game-based interventions typically bring successful outcomes. They searched five databases which held more than 3,000 relevant studies, choosing a sample of 17 which all reported their game helped to improve social skills in autistic children. In doing so, the researchers sought to establish:
The analysis revealed a diverse range of game-based approaches for teaching social skills to autistic children and youth, all of which varied significantly in their design and objectives. For example, while some games emphasised individualised, family-centred intervention, others incorporated cognitive behavioural therapy principles to enhance social interaction skills.
While all of the game-based interventions were found to be generally effective in improving participant performance on measures of social skills, the researchers note many of the studies were not clear on what specific social skills they were targeting or how they defined ‘social skills’.
Going forward, they suggest future studies on game-based interventions should be more clearly based on established theories. In addition, it is important to involve autistic people in the design of these games to ensure they meet their needs effectively.
