Learning Disabilities Flashcards
What is a learning disability?
A significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information, to learn new skills with;
- a reduced ability to cope independently and
- which started before adulthood with a lasting effect on development
IQ<70
What is a learning diffculty?
An educational term which is used to describe any difficulty that a student has with learning ie: dyslexia
What legalisation is in place for people with learning disabilities?
The equality act (2010)- the public sector equality duty/ equality delivery system
The mental capacity act 2005 (MCA)
Human rights act (1998)
What are the barriers faced by individuals with LD?
Communication Low expectation Physical access Lack of accessible information Fear of health professionals Lack of time Physical environment Poor info from carers Poor support Lack of education Lack of preparation Consent Additional needs Diagnostic overshadowing
What is a borderline intellectual functioning?
Not classified as a learning disability but still vulnerable due to cognitive status
Living independently
Subtle communication difficulties
High school ‘drop out’ or in special education
What are the risk factors for learning disabilities?
Family history Poor nutrition Severe head injuries Child abuse Pregnancy related factors Lead poisoning infections of the CNS Leukaemia can increase the risk
What is a barrier for people with learning disabilities?
Communication problems
Poor skills from healthcare professionals
Negative attitude to people with learning disabilities from healthcare professionals
How do you overcome barriers with learning disabilities?
Communication aids Reasonable adjustment- ie: a person with learning disability may be first on the list to avoid crowds and noise Collateral history Patient centred care Biopsychosocial approach
What other problems might children with learning disabilities have?
About 20% of children with learning disabilities also have attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder ADHD
They may become frustrated/lose interest in school and avoid challenges
They may have low self esteem with emotional problems- withdrawal, anxiety, depression or aggression
Dementia is more common
What is challenging behaviour?
Antisocial behaviour
Frequent
Danger to themselves or others- self harming, aggression,
What professionals support people with leaerning difficulties?
The right support from professionals – such as GPs, paediatricians (doctors who specialise in treating children), speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, educational and clinical psychologists and social care – helps people with a learning disability live as full and independent a life as possible.
What causes learning disabilities?
A learning disability happens when a person’s brain development is affected, either before they’re born, during their birth or in early childhood.
This can be caused by things such as:
the mother becoming ill in pregnancy
problems during the birth that stop enough oxygen getting to the brain
the unborn baby inheriting certain genes from its parents that make having a learning disability more likely – known as inherited learning disability
illness, such as meningitis, or injury in early childhood
Sometimes there’s no known cause for a learning disability.
What conditions are associated with having a learning disability?
Downs syndrome
Cerebral palsy
Autism
Epilepsy
What is a profound and multiple learning disability?
A profound and multiple learning disability (PMLD) is when a person has a severe learning disability and other disabilities that significantly affect their ability to communicate and be independent.
Someone with PMLD may have severe difficulties seeing, hearing, speaking, moving
They may have complex health and social care needs due to these or other conditions
What health problems are people with LD more at risk of?
Hirschsprungs
Duodenal atresia
ASD/VSD
Epilepsy
Constipation (may not be able to express this)
GORD
H pylori
Thyroid
Obesity
Osteoporosis
Osteopenia
More prone to GI cancers
Less likely to develop lung, breast
Aspiration pneumonia
Dysphagia
What is reasonable adjustments for learning disability?
A reasonable adjustment is when somebody changes how they do things to make it better for you.
People with a learning disability have a legal right for reasonable adjustments to be made so they can get the same benefits from healthcare services as everyone else.
Ask your GP if you need any reasonable adjustments, such as:
using pictures, large print or simpler words to say what’s happening
booking longer appointments
putting an appointment at the beginning or end of the day, if you find it hard to be in a busy waiting room
The reasonable adjustments you need should be written down in a health profile or health action plan that the GP or nurse can use.
What is transforming care?
One of the main government policies
Community care rather than secondary care
Good QOL
Review psychosocial meds
What are the 3 key criteria that need to be met for people to be diagnosed with learning disability?
1) low IQ (below 70
2) at least 2 limited areas of adaptive functioning exist concurrently
3) disability occurring before the age of 18 years
For a learning disability to be diagnosed, you must have two limited areas of adaptive skills, what are examples of adaptive skills?
Communication Self care Home living Social skills Community use Self direction Health and safety Functional academics Leisure Work
When will you notice a mild learning disability?
With a mild learning disability the person is relatively independent in self care and daily living skills.
They can hold a conversation and engage in the clinical interview
You may begin to notice a mild learning difficulty when it comes down to abstract concepts ie: asking a timeline of a condition, a person may struggle with
When will you notice a moderate learning disability?
These people will have basic communication skills and will speak in short sentences/phrases, you will have to adapt your communication skills likewise
Do most of their own self care but may need to be prompted
Community access with staff
Many people with Down syndrome
What is severe learning disability?
Limited communication and motor impairment
Patient will need supervision in daily activities and live in a 24 hour staffed home
What is a profound learning disability?
Requires 24 hour supervised care
Living either with family or in a group home/nursing home
Multiple medical problems
Inner world largely unavailable to others because of communication difficulty
Are ADHD and ASD learning disabilities?
No they are actually neuro developmental disorders
Most of them have normal IQs
However they are more common in learning disability
