Strategies all nurses can use in caring for people with learning disabilities and autism

All nurses in England could receive mandatory training in caring for people with learning disabilities and autism if a pilot scheme proves successful.

Why is this happening and what strategies can all nurses learn from those working in this field?

This episode of the podcast hears from two specialist nurses, Jim Blair, a learning disability nurse consultant, and Lauretta Ofulue, a learning disability nurse now training to be a specialist community public health nurse.

The two first met when Jim nursed Lauretta’s son Otito, who had a learning disability and autism, at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. This meeting and the experience of caring for her severely disabled son, who has since died, led Lauretta to retrain as a learning disability nurse.

The pair share their strategies for supporting people with learning disabilities and autism and explain what making reasonable adjustments and avoiding diagnostic overshadowing mean in practice.

For more episodes of the Nursing Standard podcast, visit rcni.com/podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.