Tizard News and Events

Project advisors, Colin Guest (MCCH) and Lisa Richardson (Tizard Centre)  attended a Kent and Medway Learning Disability Community of Practice on Wednesday 18^th June.  As part of the event on Addressing Health Inequalities in Learning Disability week the team presented  key findings from the Living in Fear Research project and facilitated discussions on GP roles in supporting people with learning disabilities and autism who have experienced targeted victimisation.

Living In Fear- Better Outcomes for people with Learning Disabilities and Autism – more information http://www.mcch.org.uk/livinginfear/index.aspx

If you are intersted in getting involved or in future events please see:  http://kentlivewell.wordpress.com/

This group was set up by Dr Michelle McCarthy and Amanda Bates (PhD student) from Tizard at the end of 2013.  The group is made up of service users who advise Tizard on different aspects of research, for example, commenting on plain English abstracts and research materials such as questionnaires.  The aim is to ensure that Tizard’s research is as relevant and accessible to end users as possible.

The group are holding their third meeting on Wednesday 18th June 2014.

If you are interested in joining the group or would like any further information please contact Michelle McCarthy (M.McCarthy@kent.ac.uk) or Amanda Bates (ajb61@kent.ac.uk)

Following a mad few days Dr Jill Bradshaw and Prof Chris Hutton have managed to have their letter concerning the preventable death of Connor Sparrowhawk (aged 18)printed in The Guardian, this coincides with a debate in the House of Lords today into the premature deaths of people with learning disabilities.

In just over a week 560 signatures were collected and there is still time to register with the group seeking  change in the way those with learning disabilities are treated and valued.

To read the full letter:  http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jun/11/justice-people-learning-disabilities

For further updates you can follow this campaign on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/Tizard.Centre/

Colleagues will be saddened to hear about the death of Lorna Wing on Friday 6^th June.  Lorna began her work in autism in the 1960s. As a parent of a child who had autism she helped to found the National Autistic Society in 1962, and dedicated her life to advancing understanding of this condition and helping families. Her ground breaking early  epidemiological work in the 1970s with Judith Gould led to the identification of autism as a ‘triad’ of impairments.  Lorna introduced the concept of a ‘spectrum’ of autism to the field in the 1980s, emphasizing an approach to autism of a broad dimensional condition affecting all ages and abilities and found alongside other neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions.  In the 1981 she wrote the first paper on Asperger’s work and
introduced the term Asperger’s Syndrome.  For her, autism was firstly a developmental disorder that could only be understood in the context of a child or adult’s social and cognitive developmental history. She was an extraordinary inspiration and support  for families, individuals with autism, clinicians and researchers alike and a wonderful and generous mentor and friend.
Full obituary:   http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10886838/Lorna-Wing-obituary.html

On Monday 12th May 2014 along with project advisors Rob Marno, Allan Finn and Kathy Johnson,  Lisa Richardson from the Tizard centre and  Colin Guest project manager from MCCH attended a Joint meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Learning Disability, where they presented a summary of the findings and recommendations of the Living in Fear research project  and described the Jigsaw project.  The project is currently being supported by  Kent Police and Medway Council who are  piloting  some of the key research recommendations in Medway, with participation from police officers, schools, transport, healthcare and public service providers.  http://www.mcch.org.uk/livinginfear/index.aspx

Kent Police, who were partners in this three year Big Lottery funded research project were also represented by DCI Andy Pritchard and Superintendent Andy Rabey.  David Quirke-Thornton, Deputy Director of Medway Council’s Children and Adult Services also attended.

The briefing was chaired by Robert Buckland MP and Lord Rix.  First-hand accounts of disability hate crime were heard from Kevin Healey (an anti-bullying campaigner) and Richard Lawrence from Mencap.  A response and discussion session with Norman Baker MP and Minister for Crime Prevention followed.  The Minister identified two main routes to address hate crime: legal action and changing attitudes.   He felt that police and public attitudes and understanding of hate crime – particularly against those with learning disabilities or autism – need to change. He described how the College of Policing is leading on improving training for police officers in autism, learning disability and mental health so that officers can better support victims and those who come into contact with the criminal justice system.

We are delighted to announce that Dr Peter Langdon, who recently joined the Tizard Centre, has been appointed as the next Co-editor of JARID.  The appointment was made following the resignation of the current Co-editor, Prof Glynis Murphy who has decided to retire in July 2014.

The appointment was made following an open application and interview process carried out by Wiley, BILD and Prof Chris Hatton, all of whom warmly welcome Peter to the Journal.

Martin Lewis, money saving expert,  has issued advice to those thinking of studying for a degree but who are put off by the huge financial commitment/burden this seems to entail.  For full details of this please see the following link:

http://images2.moneysavingexpert.com/attachment/Mature_Guide_2014.pdf

Each year the Tizard Centre hosts a lecture at the University of Kent and  we invite a mixture of public figures and distinguished academics to discuss a subject of  interest to a wide audience from within and outside the university. The evening is an important way of highlighting issues that we care strongly about and of bringing together people from a range of backgrounds, both inside and outside of the University, many of whom we have worked with in the past or are currently working with.

This year’s Jim Mansell Memorial lecture was held on Friday 14th April 2014 at Rutherford College with Emeritus Professor Patricia Howlin giving the talk “”What happens to people with autism when they reach  adulthood?”, which proved to be very informative and at times moving.  The lecture was attended by around 157 people.  We were delighted that Melvyn & Sophie Newell were able to attend and present the Tizard annual prizes.  The Newells have very generously given an additional donation which will be used as an MSc scholarship, for which we offer our grateful thanks.  We were also delighted to welcome Jenny, Harry, Ruth & Stephen Mansell, members of Jim’s family.

The lecture was followed by a short informal drinks reception and then high table dinner in Rutherford Dining Hall.  An excellent evening was had by all with the catering staff surpassing their usual high standards.

We would like to thank Sue Casement, Master’s Assistant at Rutherford College, all the catering staff who worked tirelessly on the evening and those Tizard students who acted as guides.

For full details regarding this years prize winners: http://www.kent.ac.uk/tizard/courses/Tizard_Prizes.html

Nicola Thornton receiving her prize – Best UG performance in IDD.

This will be of particular interest to any campus based students.  The new scheme which started this January is open to all students registered on existing programmes.  Kent Extra is a means of enhancing your student experience through providing additional learning opportunities outside the confines of credit-bearing modules or specific degree disciplines. Students will be eligible for Kent Extra miles rather than credits.

For more information and to look at the many short courses now available: http://www.kent.ac.uk/extra/courses.html

The Tizard Centre are delighted to announce further great news in what is fast becoming a seriously oustanding academic year for them.  Following on from being awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize, Prof Glynis Murphy is one of 28 social scientists to have been conferred the award of Academician by the Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS).

AcSS is the National Academy of academics, learned societies and practitioners in the social sciences.  It has over 900 individual academicians who are distinguised scholars and practitioners from academia and the public and private sectors.  They are awarded this status after a peer group has reviewed the standing and impact of their work.  Prof Murphy was recognised for her work on intellectual and developemental disabilities.

Prof Murphy first joined the Tizard Centre in 1993.  Following a brief spell at Lancaster University she returned to the Tizard and was appointed Co-Director in 2011.  Her principal research interests are in the field of challenging behaviour and learning disabilities.  Her current and recently completed studies include:  the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy for people with learning disabilities who have committed sex offences; screening for people with learning disabilities in prison; the effectiveness of social care for ex-offenders with learning disabilities; and (with Dr Peter Langdon) the effectiveness of CBT for people with Asperger syndrome and social anxiety.

She has held over £1 million in grant funding from Bethlem Royal Hospital in London, Department of Health, Mental Health Foundation, Nuffield Foundation, British Institute of Learning Disabilities, Wellcome Trust, Bailey Thomas Fund, National Institute for Health Research and the School for Social Care Research.

She is co-editor of the Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disablity, a fellow of the British Psychological Society and was President of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability between 2008 and 2012.  Prof Murphy won the MB Shapiro award in December 2013 for her contribution to clinical psychology.  She is also one of the associate directors for SSCR.

In 2o13 she was appointed as Chair of the NICE Guideline Development Group for Challenging Behaviour in People with Learning Disabilities.  These are the first guidelines on learning disabilities that NICE has begun.

Warm congratulations to Prof Murphy.