Source: Skills for Care
People with a learning disability are more likely to experience poor mental health but they are less likely to have access to adequate support. This week is #LearningDisabilityWeek and Skills for Care are launching new resources to support social care staff to talk to people with a learning disability about their everyday mental health.
The Skills for Care resources include a video that shares tips for talking about mental health, two posters about what makes people feel worried and what makes people feel happy, and a wellbeing journal. The resources are designed to prompt and facilitate conversations.
Background
It’s estimated that around 40% of people with learning disabilities also have mental ill-health. This is more than double the number in the general population.
Often, people with a learning disability haven’t had a chance to heal from negative life experiences, which might include abuse, grief and/or trauma. Consequently, they live their everyday lives feeling scared, worried and/or anxious, which has a negative impact on their everyday mental health.
They also don’t always have access to the support they need to improve their mental health, and rarely have the opportunity to talk openly about their feelings.
Skills for Care have worked with people with a learning disability to develop practical resources for staff, so they can become more confident and knowledgeable to talk openly about mental health.
Available Resources
Click on the links below to download the free resources to help.
- Top tips for talking about their feelings – these tips will help you talk to people with a learning disability about their everyday mental health.
- What makes people worried and what can help – this poster explains some of the things that people with a learning disability said makes them worried, and what can help.
- What can help with people’s mental health – this poster examples some of the things that people with a learning disability said helps with their mental health.
- My wellbeing journal – this journal is for people with a learning disability, to help them to think about and write down how they’re feeling.