Press

Press Release

22nd November 2006

People with severe learning disabilities are becoming more independent, research shows

A ground breaking report published by national charity United Response today, has revealed that people with severe learning disabilities are leading more independent lives than they were five years ago.

United Response carried out an evaluation in partnership with the Tizard Centre at the University of Kent. It shows that people supported by United Response are significantly more engaged in everyday activities than in 2000, with the greatest change being seen among people with the most complex needs.

Bev Ashman, is practice development co-ordinator at United Response and headed up the work. She said:

“We wanted to find out the impact our work is having on the lives of the people we support and so we decided to carry out a benchmarking exercise.

“We completed the first assessment in 2000. The results showed that person centred active support, a way of working with people with learning disabilities to help them become engaged in everyday activities, was having a real effect on people lives, but could be developed further.

“We made some changes to the way we work with people, creating more opportunities for staff to develop their skills and confidence in using person centred active support.

“We completed the second assessment earlier this year. The results show that people with the most complex needs, such as those with physical or visual impairments or whose behaviour severely challenges, are taking part in more activities than ever before. In 2000, people with the most severe learning disabilities were mostly disengaged. Today, people are spending up to 50% of their time taking part in activities they have chosen to do.”

Dr Julie Beadle Brown from the Tizard Centre said:

"This is first large-scale attempt to improve support for people with learning disabilities in this way. The results are impressive. They show the way for other organisations seeking to make a difference to people's lives.

United Response is a national charity working with people with learning disabilities or mental health needs in England and Wales.

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For more information please contact Sarah Bartlett or Jaime Gill in the United Response Press Office on020 8246 5237/ 020 8246 5122 or emailsarah.bartlett@unitedresponse.org.uk or jaime.gill@unitedresponse.org.uk

Notes to editors:

  1. In 2000, working in partnership with the Tizard Centre at the University of Kent, United Response carried out a baseline assessment of 99 residential services for 495 people with learning disabilities. It aimed to find out how well UR was supporting people with learning disabilities to become engaged. Since then United Response has taken a number of steps to continue to improve its practice and to develop its person-centred active support.
  2. As part of UR’s commitment to providing high quality and evidence based services, and to develop techniques further, a follow-up evaluation has now been completed.
  3. People supported by United Response and United Response staff have been fully involved in the evaluation process through observations, staff questionnaires and skills assessments. Information from the evaluation (anonymised to protect individual confidentiality) was analysed by the Tizard Centre.
  4. The evaluation focused on the implementation and benefits of person-centred active support, a way of using ordinary, everyday activities to encourage choice, engagement and to increase independence.
  5. Research has shown that for people with severe and profound learning disabilities to participate in everyday activities, they must be repeatedly presented with small opportunities and at the same time they must be provided with the necessary support to ensure the experience is a positive one.
  6. Many of the people UR supports have complex needs. 37% have a physical disability. 37% have a hearing and/or visual impairment. 32% have behaviour which staff find challenging (A Valued Life 2005/2006). Research carried out by Mansell (1994) and Hatton et al (1996) shows that person-centred active support can be particularly beneficial to people with complex needs.
  7. The results of the 2005/6 evaluation show:
  8. Person centred active support and engagement have increased at United Response, with 47% of people we support becoming more engaged in meaningful activities between 2000 and 2005/6. At the same time over 60% showed some increase in active support.
  9. Person centred active support can be particularly beneficial to people with low level skills and more complex needs.In 2000, over half of people in this group were largely disengaged. In 2005/6, 59% were reported as being engaged in meaningful activities to some extent.
  10. United Response is a charity with working in England and Wales with over 30 /years experience of providing services for people with learning disabilities or mental health needs. Built around the changing needs of the people it supports, United Response operates over 200 services across England and Wales and supports over 1,500 people. United Response offers a range of person-centred services from 24-hour residential care, through to supported living – supporting people to live independently in their own homes – and supporting people who want to work to find meaningful employment. United Response supports people to make decisions about how they want to live their lives and where possible to become more independent.
  11. The Tizard Centre is one of the leading UK academic groups working in learning disability and community care. The Centre’s primary aims are, through research, teaching and consultancy, to learn more about how to support and work with people effectively; help carers, managers and professionals develop the values, knowledge and skills that enable better services; help policy makers, planners, managers and practitioners organise and provide better services.

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