Abstract BackgroundDuring the COVID‐19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, many health services were withdrawn from people with learning disabilities, with negative impacts on people's health. What has happened to people's health and healthcare as we move beyond the pandemic?MethodsAccess to health services and health status were tracked for 550 UK adults with learning disabilities, using structured online interviews with people with learning disabilities and online surveys with family members or paid carers. Information was provided four times, from Wave 1 (in the winter 2020/2021 ‘lockdown’) to Wave 4 (autumn 2022, over a year after public health protections stopped).FindingsBy Wave 4, most people with learning disabilities had had COVID‐19, although high vaccination rates limited the number of people hospitalised. There was little evidence that use of GP services, community nurses, other therapists or annual health checks had increased over time, and at Wave 4 more people were having difficulty getting their medicines. People's health did not substantially improve over time. People with profound and multiple learning disabilities had poorer health and were less likely to be accessing health services.ConclusionsImprovements in access to health services for people with learning disabilities after the pandemic have not yet happened.

Abstract BackgroundShared Lives (adult placement) is a model of community‐based support where an adult who needs support and/or accommodation moves into or regularly visits the home of an approved Shared Lives carer. It is an established but small‐scale service used mainly by adults with learning disabilities. However, little research has been conducted about whether and in what ways this model can support people to live well.MethodThis article presents findings from outcome measures focused on well‐being for a sample of 39 people supported by Shared Lives in England. Fifteen semistructured interviews were also conducted by peer/coresearchers to supplement the quantitative data. Data collection took place between June 2017 and September 2018.FindingsFindings indicated that people using Shared Lives generally had good outcomes across all of the measures. All of those interviewed identified areas of their life where Shared Lives had made a positive difference, particularly with relationships and activities.ConclusionsLimitations to the research mean that more work is needed to fully understand the role Shared Lives plays in supporting people to live well and in comparison to other forms of community support.

Accessible Summaries The digital inclusion of people with learning disabilities is an important topic because more of our lives are spent using technology and being online. Articles in this special issue talk about the digital inclusion of people with learning disabilities. We look at their experiences and the experiences of other people in their lives. The articles talk about how people with learning disabilities use technology and the things that help and stop people from using the internet and technology. The articles also talk about how using technology helped a lot of people during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. The articles talk about how people with learning disabilities need choices, opportunities, support and training to make digital inclusion happen so they can use technology like everybody else.

British Journal of Learning DisabilitiesEarly View IN RESPONSE In response to ‘Use of technology by older adults with an intellectual disability in Ireland to support health, well-being and social inclusion during the COVID-19 pandemic’, by Darren McCausland, Mary McCarron and Philip McCallion Gosia Kwiatkowska, Corresponding Author Gosia Kwiatkowska gosia@uel.ac.uk RIX Research and Media, University of East London, London, UK Correspondence Gosia Kwiatkowska Email: gosia@uel.ac.ukSearch for more papers by this authorSatvinder Kaur Dhillon, Satvinder Kaur Dhillon RIX Research and Media, University of East London, London, UKSearch for more papers by this authorKanchan Kerai, Kanchan Kerai RIX Research and Media, University of East London, London, UKSearch for more papers by this author Gosia Kwiatkowska, Corresponding Author Gosia Kwiatkowska gosia@uel.ac.uk RIX Research and Media, University of East London, London, UK Correspondence Gosia Kwiatkowska Email: gosia@uel.ac.ukSearch for more papers by this authorSatvinder Kaur Dhillon, Satvinder Kaur Dhillon RIX Research and Media, University of East London, London, UKSearch for more papers by this authorKanchan Kerai, Kanchan Kerai RIX Research and Media, University of East London, London, UKSearch for more papers by this author First published: 17 April 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/bld.12529Read the full textAboutRelatedInformationPDFPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessClose modalShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Early ViewOnline Version of Record before inclusion in an issue RelatedInformation RecommendedSocial support and intellectual disabilities: a comparison between social networks of adults with intellectual disability and those with physical disabilityT. Lippold, J. Burns, Journal of Intellectual Disability ResearchSocial Connections for Older People with Intellectual Disability in Ireland: Results from Wave One of IDS-TILDADarren McCausland, Philip McCallion, Eimear Cleary, Mary McCarron, Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual DisabilitiesIntellectual DisabilityStewart Einfeld MD, DCH, FRANZCP, MRACMA, Eric Emerson BSc, MSc, PhD, Rutter's Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, [1]‘You have to care.’ perceptions of promoting autonomy in support settings for adults with intellectual disabilityJami Petner-Arrey, Susan R. Copeland, British Journal of Learning DisabilitiesStaff mental health while providing care to people with intellectual disability during the COVID‐19 pandemicFintan Sheerin, Andrew P. Allen, Marianne Fallon, Philip McCallion, Mary McCarron, Niamh Mulryan, Yaohua Chen, British Journal of Learning Disabilities

. In response to '"Now that I'm connected this isn't social isolation, this is engaging with people": Staying connected during the COVID-19 pandemic ' (

Abstract BackgroundThis paper describes the experience of conducting a co‐researched project with people with learning disabilities in Madrid, Spain, during the COVID pandemic and lockdown. I discuss the advantages and limitations of working online and challenges encountered while coordinating and facilitating the research.MethodsOur research project was on the impact of COVID on the lives of people with learning disabilities, which the eight co‐researchers chose. As part of my PhD, I offered my services as researcher to work together with persons with learning disabilities. Eight people took up my offer. We worked together from January 2021 to March 2022 virtually and I recorded this experience. I have written the paper, but as part of my co‐researcher agreement, I have shared my reflections and work with my co‐researchers, and we have co‐written a section to share our findings.FindingsIn this paper, I discuss the advantages and limitations of working online, challenges I encountered while coordinating and facilitating the research and the work together. Remote work enabled the group to work on a biweekly basis and with members from different parts of Madrid. It saved people time and effort getting around town, yet we had to introduce express times and spaces to socialise and create a working relationship that is less natural than during in‐person interactions and breaks. During our fieldwork, we found that the pandemic had spurred the access to digital devices and programmes, but people may still be reliant on their environment, carers or supporters to facilitate it. I included a section written with my co‐researchers, in which we reflect together on the experience of working online and how we reached out to their peers during our fieldwork. We identified limitations due to our online research methodology such as lack of owning a digital device, the difficulties having access to a private space from which to connect online and the joy of meeting other people to exchange experiences.ConclusionHuman rights based participatory research can be done online. There are different ways of overcoming barriers to participation. However, there are people with no access to the internet or without digital skills that are being excluded and we must ensure that we reach out to them as well.

Accessible summary Many people with learning disabilities have poor health and die younger compared to the general population so having regular health checks is very important. Sometimes doctors (general practitioners or GPs) and nurses do not know a person has a learning disability so cannot offer them a suitable health check. We asked GPs and a nurse for their views on ways they can find out who has learning disabilities and whether those ways of finding people work We found that the doctors and the nurses did not use ways to find out who has learning disabilities very often, but thought they were a good idea. Finding people with learning disabilities meant they could be offered support to attend appointments more easily.

Abstract BackgroundYoung people with learning disabilities use many digital technologies to undertake meaningful and social activities in their everyday lives. Understanding these digital activities is essential for supporting their digital participation. Including them in exploring their digital activities can be challenging with conventional qualitative research methods, because digital activities are a complex and abstract topic to discuss, particularly for people with learning disabilities. In this paper, we present the rationale for developing and using visual tangible artefacts (VTAs) to include young people with learning disabilities in exploring their digital activities.MethodsWe devised a suite of VTAs to engage young people (aged 14–27 years) with learning disabilities in exploring their digital activities via interviews, diaries, and workshops. The VTAs comprised Talking Mats (TMs), probing with technology, digital snapshots and inspiration cards.FindingsOur significant methodological findings were that VTAs are useful for exploring digital activities with young people with learning disabilities. TMs and probing with technology can engage participants to map, recall and explain their digital activities. Digital snapshots are valuable for validating findings with participants, and inspiration cards aid perspectives about digital aims. Although communication and abstract representations can be challenging for people with learning disabilities, VTAs that combine familiar, simple, intuitive, individualised, rewarding elements and collaboration with participants proved valuable for exploring their digital activities.ConclusionWe concluded that VTAs are inclusive tools for exploring the digital activities of and with young people with learning disabilities. The VTAs allowed access to conversations, information and insights that are not obtainable otherwise. As such, the VTAs may be regarded as a new model for inclusive research in the field of disability and technology studies.

Accessible summary This special issue of the journal celebrates the 50th birthday of the British Journal of Learning Disabilities (BJLD). The stories in this special issue are about the history of learning disability from around the world. It is important that people know about the history of learning disability, because people with learning disabilities have been kept in the dark for too long. Ian Davies says “why should we be forgotten? We're as much a part of society as everyone else”. Over the years BJLD has included stories about learning disability history, but many of these stories were written by people who do not have learning disabilities. In the past few years, people with learning disabilities have been doing important history projects. In this special issue, we have included stories about history that have been written by people with learning disabilities. In the next 50 years, it needs to be easier for people with learning disabilities to write for journals like BJLD. It should also be easier for people with learning disabilities to find out about other people's research in journals like BJLD.