Learning Disability Resources

Whilst Greater Manchester  Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust is not a specialist provider of learning disability services, the Trust recognises the importance of ensuring reasonable adjustments are made to the services we offer to enable people with autism and learning disabilities to have equal access to and effective treatments to meet their mental health needs.

NHS Choices states that: "A learning disability affects the way a person learns new things in any area of life, not just at school.

"A learning disability affects the way a person understands information and how they communicate. Around 1.5m people in the UK have one. This means they can have difficulty:

• understanding new or complex information;
• learning new skills;
• coping independently.

It is thought that up to 350,000 people have severe learning disabilities. This figure is increasing."

Mencap define learning disability as "a reduced intellectual ability and difficulty with everyday activities – for example household tasks, socialising or managing money – which affects someone for their whole life.

People with a learning disability tend to take longer to learn and may need support to develop new skills, understand complex information and interact with other people."

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NHS England Getting it right for people with learning disabilities epublication.pdf [pdf] 973KB

Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities - Easy Read Guides to Health Conditions

Feeling Down - Improving the mental health of people with learning disabilities [pdf] 2MB - a report by the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities

Getting on? Growing older with autism [pdf] 1MB - A policy report by The National Autistic Society

Tools for Talking - Primarily for use in social support settings, the Tools provide resources to facilitate communication and information sharing between people with learning disabilities from minority ethnic communities and service providers.

NHS Choice Framework 2015/16, and 8 accompanying Easy Read leaflets.

Mental Health Act Code of Practice.

The essential guide to travelling with a medical condition: http://www.insurancewith.com/travelling-with-a-medical-condition/

Safe travel tips for older adults: http://www.healthinaging.org/resources/resource:safe-travel-tips-for-older-adults/