Summary
Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) indicates that the human rights of young people with a learning disabilities and / or autism are being breached in mental health hospitals. Proposals for radical reform are advocated.
“Too often families of those with learning disabilities and/or autism are considered to be the problem when they ought to be the solution”.
Reference
Joint Committee on Human Rights. (2019). The detention of young people with learning disabilities and/or autism. Report, together with formal minutes relating to the report, ordered by the House of Commons / House of Lords to be printed 23 October 2019. London: The Stationery Office Limited (House of Commons / House of Lords / Joint Committee on Human Rights), November 1st 2019. HC 121 / HL Paper 10.
Related comment, from BBC News:
Reference
Burns, J. (2019). ‘My autistic daughter was held in a cell for two years’. London: BBC Education News / BBC Health News, November 1st 2019.
Further Resources on the Conditions of Young People With Learning Disabilities
Northern Ireland:
Reference
Allcock, A. (2018). Mental health of young people with learning disabilities in transition. Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services. December 2018. (This is an ESSS Outline).
A case study:
Reference
Improving the transitions of care for users of Learning Disability Services. Picker Institute Europe / Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, July 2018.
Mental health aspects of LD care transitions:
Reference
Guidelines on caring for people with a learning disability in general hospital settings. Revised June 2018. Belfast: Guidelines and Audit Implementation Network (GAIN) June 2018.
In Wales:
Reference
‘Don’t hold back’: transitions to adulthood for young people with learning disabilities. Swansea: British Association for Supported Employment / Children’s Commissioner for Wales, July 2018.
