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Background: There has been extensive research into adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), however, less consideration has been given to the prevalence and impact of ACEs for staff working with people with intellectual disabilities. Method: Participants were staff employed by agencies that care for people with intellectual disabilities. An online survey collected demographic information and measures of ACEs, resilience, trauma-informed organisational climate, burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Correlation, regression, mediation and moderation analyses were used. Results: 81.7% of 109 participants had experienced at least one ACE. Burnout, secondary traumatic stress and resilience were greater in the present study than in comparable samples. Trauma-informed organisational climate significantly predicted burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Resilience significantly predicted burnout. Conclusions: Staff working with people with intellectual disabilities are likely to have experienced ACEs. Working in a trauma-informed organisational climate and resilience may be effective avenues for reducing burnout and secondary traumatic stress.

Background: The aim of this feasibility study was to adapt and model a behavioural intervention for anxiety with autistic adults with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities. Method: Twenty‐eight autistic adults with moderate or severe intellectual disabilities, 37 carers, and 40 therapists took part in this single‐group non‐randomised feasibility study designed to test intervention feasibility and acceptability, outcome measures, and research processes. Results: The intervention was judged as feasible and acceptable by autistic adults with intellectual disabilities, carers, and therapists. Minor intervention revisions were suggested. Carers completed 100% of outcome measures and the missing data rate was low. Complying with legislation governing the inclusion of participants who lack capacity to decide whether they wanted to take part in this study led to an average 5‐week enrolment delay. Conclusion: The intervention and associated study processes were judged to be feasible and acceptable and should now be tested within a larger randomised trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous research aiming to understand the lives of lesbian, gay bisexual and trans (LGBT) people labelled with intellectual disabilities is limited. There are few recent studies and available findings are often contradictory and inconsistent. Method: This study aimed to explore how LGBT people labelled with intellectual disabilities experienced their sexual identities. Five LGBT people labelled with intellectual disabilities were interviewed, and data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology. Results: Four superordinate themes represented the following: common experiences of bullying/abuse, understanding sexualities, other's responses to intellectual disabilities and sexualities, and navigating acceptance. Conclusions: Strategies for coping with abuse maintained participant's engagement in local communities. Sexuality was often problematized by others despite being generally accepted by participants. Coming out was a continual process of decision-making to facilitate safety and acceptance. To feel fully supported, participants desired holistic service provision sensitive to their sexuality and intellectual disability needs. Clinical and research implications are suggested.

Background: This paper examines the experiences of people with intellectual disabilities, in secure care, with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The paper specifically looks at the perceptions of the participants in relation to their diagnosis and experience of psychosis. Method: Eleven adults with intellectual disabilities in a medium secure unit were interviewed about their experiences and understanding of their diagnosis of schizophrenia and symptoms of psychosis. The transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results: Three Superordinate themes were evident within the data as well as several subthemes; (i) reality of symptoms (voices as controlling/malevolent, symptoms as a real lived experience); (ii) making sense/a search for meaning (normalization, religious/spiritual explanation, psychotic symptoms as a sign of illness) and (iii) Perceptions of being labelled. Conclusion: The results highlighted that people with intellectual disabilities hold multiple frameworks in understanding both their diagnosis of schizophrenia and the associated symptoms of psychosis. The findings provide further insight into the experiences of people with intellectual disabilities, specifically those detained within a medium secure unit. The clinical implications are discussed in terms of developing services and therapeutic approaches.

In this paper, the authors discuss the need for an instrument to help distinguish between autism and the effects of complex trauma in the diagnostic assessment of adults. They chose to adapt the Coventry Grid (Moran, 2010) for this purpose and developed the Coventry Grid for Adults (CGA). It is widely accepted that autism presents differently in each individual with the diagnosis and so too in trauma. Diagnostic assessment tools are necessarily limited in that they have to use general descriptors and can not account for every individual seen with the condition. There is also often a focus on difficulties and a tendency to view difference as a deficit, when such differences can convey strengths and/or may not be viewed as a problem by the person concerned. The authors acknowledge that the CGA is in its infancy and welcome feedback from readers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent literature and government guidance has highlighted the rights of parents with learning disabilities and role of services in meeting their needs. In the present study, three focus groups were conducted involving 35 members of community health visiting teams in order to identify estimated incidence and needs of parents with learning disabilities and the needs of services in supporting them. The health visiting teams identified clinically significant numbers of parents with learning disabilities and - through qualitative focus group discussion - suggested a significant need for intervention and support for these parents, greater resources and knowledge within health visiting services, and improved interagency co-ordination and communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To systematically review papers reporting the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in health and social care workers, as well as any personal or professional factors they were associated with., Method: CINAHL, EMCARE, PsychInfo, and Medline were searched to find studies utilizing the ACE questionnaire (Felitti et al., 1998) in health and social care worker populations., Results: The initial search returned 1,764 papers, with 17 studies meeting the inclusion criteria to be in the review., Conclusions: ACEs among health and social care workers were frequently reported and occurred more often than in the general population. They were also associated with several personal and professional outcomes, including poor physical and mental health, and workplace stress. Understanding staff ACE characteristics can help organizations to consider ways to support staff, which may be individual or systemic. Trauma-responsive systems may be a possible answer among organizations to improve staff well-being, quality of service, and better outcomes for service users. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).