Webinars on COVID-19 and learning disability

We are all having to adapt and learn quickly during the coronavirus pandemic. For supporters and professionals, sharing information, resources and learning is vital to ensuring that people with learning disabilities and autism receive the best possible care and support in these challenging times.

Below are links to recordings of some recommended webinars.

National Mental Capacity Forum webinars

The National Mental Capacity Forum is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health and Social Care. Its purpose is to work with stakeholders from health and social care to identify actions to improve implementation of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA).

Professor Sheila the Baroness Hollins contributed to two of the three webinars recorded so far in this series. Webinars address:

• Sharing Voices in Response to COVID-19

• Covid-19, DoLS, and Best Interests

• Public Health and Human Rights in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Click here: https://autonomy.essex.ac.uk/covid-19/#nmcf

“Talking about dying, death and coronavirus with people with learning disabilities” (Webinar, 29th April 2020)

Professor Irene Tuffrey-Wijne (author on Am I Going to Die? and several of our free coronavirus resources) leads this webinar on breaking bad news to people with learning disabilities.

Irene Tuffrey-Wijne has spent the past two decades researching the needs of people with learning disabilities who reach the end of life, and those who are bereaved. What are the challenges and difficulties for families, support staff, professionals and service providers? Crucially, what do people with learning disabilities themselves think about all this? One of the big questions everyone struggled with was TALKING ABOUT DYING. Should you? Could you? How? Who? When? Much of her research over the past decade has focused on these questions. In this webinar, Irene draws on this research to think and talk about the impact of coronavirus (Covid-19) on people with learning disabilities and those that support them. Who is it for? Anyone working with people with learning disabilities who are affected by coronavirus. That is likely to be ALL people with learning disabilities, but it is specifically important for those who are in “at risk” group because they are older, frail, or have underlying health conditions. The webinar is suitable for those working in learning disability services, healthcare services, families, managers in health and social care services, and policy makers. Although the webinar will not be complicated, it is not recommended for people with learning disabilities themselves unless they are especially keen to join and have significant support, as it may be distressing. The key requirement is that you are willing to talk about dying. Learning outcomes Webinar participants will gain understanding of the following: • Why talking about dying with people with learning disabilities is difficult, and what stops us from doing it • How it affects people with learning disabilities if we DON’T talk about dying • Different ways in which we can support people with learning disabilities who are dying or bereaved – including people who don’t use words to communicate: • How these principles can be adapted during a time of coronavirus restrictions.