The results suggest that there are additional processes attached to having an ID, which lead to continued impoverished lifestyles. The findings also endorse other work that suggests being physically integrated and engaged in a wide range of activities does not guarantee good social and emotional support.

Accessible summarySometimes older people get confused and forget things and need lots of help: this is called dementia. People with Down’s syndrome are more likely to develop dementia than other people with learning disabilities. When people have dementia, they need extra help from their families or from their care staff.Psychologists talked to families and care staff about what they knew about dementia, and what they found difficult about caring for somebody with Down’s syndrome and dementia. They were asked about what help they got from services and what help they would like in the future.It was found that: Most people found it hard looking after someone with Down’s syndrome and dementia. Review meetings were very important to them. They asked to be there for assessments and meetings. Most people wanted to know more about Down’s syndrome and dementia. They asked for a booklet about it and for someone to explain it to them. Some people worried a lot about the future. SummaryIt is well established that people with Down’s syndrome are more likely to develop dementia than other people and that onset of dementia is likely to occur earlier at an earlier age. The article reports on a specialist service for people with Down’s syndrome and dementia. The service has offered dementia screening and assessment to people with Down’s syndrome for over 10 years and has also developed to offer support and training for carers. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with family carers, relatives and staff about the impact on them of caring for someone with Down’s syndrome and how the dementia service supports them in this role. The resulting data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The responses provide rich insights into the areas of ‘knowledge and information’, ‘coping and support’ and ‘concerns about the future’. Interviewees also identified services they wanted for the future. As a result of this evaluation, a number of changes have been proposed and begun to be implemented within the service. The results have important implications for other health, social care and voluntary organisations.

Background For non-disabled men, group cognitive-behaviour therapy is a successful

Purpose -This case report aims to describe the treatment of a woman (Rachel) in her twenties who was referred to the community team for people with an intellectual disability by her neurologist as she wanted help with reducing the frequency of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES). Design/methodology/approach -CBT was used as the therapeutic approach. The first stage of intervention focussed on reducing the frequency of PNES through relaxation and distraction techniques. Graded exposure was then used to enable Rachel to achieve her goal of going on the bus alone. The intervention process was completed over 12 sessions. Findings -Outcome was measured using self-report of seizure frequency. Rachel has successfully reduced the frequency of PNES from seven to two-three per week, and has managed to successfully complete several bus journeys on her own, working through the hierarchy the authors had developed. The authors also completed pre and post therapy measures for anxiety and depression. Her scores on the Glasgow Anxiety Scale for Intellectual Disability reduced from 23 to 19 whilst she scored sub-clinically on the Glasgow Depression Scale for Intellectual Disability. Originality/value -This case report seeks to add to the evidence base of CBT as a viable treatment for PNES whilst also demonstrating that the approach can be adapted to meet the needs of clients with intellectual disabilities.

Purpose -There is little research addressing the delivery of training for health professionals who are interested in using cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) techniques as an adjunct to their current role. This paper describes the establishment and evaluation of a CBT training course to develop CBT skills in staff working with people with intellectual disabilities in Trust healthcare settings. The course would enable staff to learn how they could incorporate these skills into their daily practice to help them understand and work more effectively with people with intellectual disabilities. Design/methodology/approach -A CBT training course was designed to teach staff the use of a number of basic and specific CBT techniques and principles that staff could use within their current roles. Specific issues in relation to people with intellectual disabilities were included, e.g. understanding cognitive deficits as well as cognitive distortions. The course ran for six sessions on a fortnightly basis, followed by a twomonth follow-up session. Participants completed a pre-and post-assessment questionnaire and kept a reflective diary. Findings -The training clearly focused on teaching skills that were feasible for staff to use in their own work settings. The evaluations, especially from the reflective diaries and the post-course questionnaires clearly demonstrated that this aim was achieved. Originality/value -This was a pilot study as there has been no previously published evidence of using this approach within intellectual disabilities services. A further training course has been planned to continue evaluating the effectiveness of this approach.