Tizard News and Events

Prof Glynis Murphy presented her  paper to a packed session at the NAS Conference yesterday; based on her research on men with autism and harmful sexual behaviour.  Prof Murphy argued that such behaviour is rare amongst men with autism but is understandable and treatable.  She presented data from the long-running SOTSEC-ID trial in which men with harmful sexual behaviour are offered one year of weekly group CBT.  Of over 100 men with learning disabilities and/or autism, 20% of the men have autism.  She argued that such men need support and treatment and not incarceration.

Professor Murphy is currently involved in two related projects:
1. SOTSEC_ID ; a collaborative group of professionals engaged in providing group treatment to men with intellectual disabilities who are at risk of sexual offending.
2. OFFSCA_ID; Offenders & Social Care- Intellectual Disabilities  is a research project looking at the cost and benefits of social care, and its effectiveness in preventing people with intellectual disabilities from re-offending.

The BBC have recently commissioned and just finished filming with Dr Janet Carr, Honorary Senior Researcher, at the Tizard Centre.  Dr Carr has assisted in the making of a film about the history of people with learning disabilities at Normansfield Hospital, due to be shown later this year.  The hospital was founded in 1868 by John Langdon Down, after whom Down syndrome was named.  It was finally shut in 1997 and the building now houses the Down Museum; illustrating a history of the care of people with learning disabilities and the history of the Normansfield Hospital and its residents.

Dr Carr is known for completing a famous longitudinal study of people with Down Syndrome, starting as a young researcher her study looked 54 babies living with their families in a part of south-east England and has continued to follow the families up over a period of 50 years.

The Tizard Centre welcome PhD applications concerning all aspects of community care the deadline for these this year is the 27 April 2016.  Those wishing to apply are encouraged to contact individual members of staff they think would be potential supervisors or for more general enquiries please contact Dr Michelle McCarthy (M.McCarthy@kent.ac.uk)

For full details please see the Tizard web site.

Dr Michelle McCarthy, Tizard Centre, University of Kent will be working alongside colleagues from the University of Nottingham on an exciting new research project on forced marriage and people with learning disabilities.

The project are looking for a Research Associate/Fellow to work as part of this project.  Ideally candidates should have a PhD (or near completion) in a relevant subject area and developed skills in working with people with communication impairments. For full details of the position see the University of Nottingham web page.  Deadline date: 9 March 2016

We are delighted to announce that Marica Gatt, PhD student at the Tizard Centre has been selected as a recipient of the 2016 Emerging Research Travel Award.  This followed a large number of applications being received so is quite an achievement.  Marica will be travelling out to the ISAAC International Conference in Toronto in August 2016 to present her paper.  She will also take part in the ISAAC Research Symposium, offering her an opportunity to showcase her work through discussions and engagement with other researchers in the field of AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication).

Marica’s paper “A systematic review of family led interventions for children with complex communication needs” is co-authored by Dr Jill Bradshaw, Dr Nicola Grove & Prof Glynis Murphy.

The EAPC has recently been involved in discussions within the European Union (EU) in preparation for the upcoming United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS). Dr David Oliver, Board member of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) and Honorary Reader, University of Kent, UK, explains the background and why it’s so important for the EAPC to be involved.

For more information

The forum meets annually with their main aim being to look at issues related to drugs and make recommendations to the EU.

The PBS Academy is a collective of organisations and individuals in the UK who are working together to promote Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) as a framework for working with children and adults with learning disabilities who are a risk of behaviour that challenges.

The Academy has now been established informally and will continue the work of the PBS coalition.  http://pbsacademy.org.uk/about-pbsacademy/

BILD are holding a Conference on 18 March 2016 in Leeds.

Active support and positive behaviour support implemented well will both create the right conditions to improve the quality of life experienced by people with learning disabilities and their carers.  There is good evidence to show that the approaches work well together and can reduce the need for behaviours that concern or that challenge services.

At this event, internationally renowned experts will help delegates explore these approaches and what they are like in practice.   Dr Julie Beadle-Brown from the Tizard Centre will be one of the key note Speakers.

The event can be booked online at www.bild.org.uk with a 10% discount for early bookings made before 26 February 2016.

For more information:

Active Support and Positive Behaviour Support Conference 2016 (f) (1)

Making Research Count

These CPD certified workshops explore aspects of working with people with learning disabilities.  The speakers will present current research with a practice focus leaving time for lively discussion and debate.

Dr Jill Bradshaw & Lisa Richardson will be leading Workshop 1 Living in Fear: experience of hate crime and victimisation amongst people with learning disabilities and autism.  This will focus on research recently carried out in this area and looking at the findings.

The workshop is being held on Monday 21 March 2016 at Kings College London 1345 – 1600 hrs. To reserve places please email: janet.noble@kcl.ac.uk

For more details see the poster:  SCWRU KCL Learning Disability Workshop 1 – 21.3.16 (2)

Other information relating to Living in Fear:
http://blogs.kent.ac.uk/tizard-news-events/2014/12/16/living-in-fear-citizenship-award/
http://www.kent.ac.uk/tizard/research/Current_recent_research.html

The Tizard Centre are running a free event including workshops, videos and speakers all concentrating on the subject of domestic violence focusing on women with learning disabilities.

This is being held at the Rochester Corn Exchange on Monday 22 February 2016 1300 – 1700 hrs.  A free lunch is included and those attending are invited to bring along a support worker should they wish to do so.

If you wish to attend please complete the application form or contact Claire Bates @c.bates@kent.ac.uk
event flyer doc with photos (1) (download application pdf)