Advocate/ Advocacy | Someone who helps people with learning disabilities to say what it is they need and to make their own decisions. See citizen advocate and self-advocacy. |
Asperger's syndrome | This is a type of autism (see below) that some people of average intelligence and language ability have. They find it particularly difficult to understand what other people think and this makes it hard for them to communicate and act appropriately. |
Autism spectrum disorder | A lifelong, complex condition resulting in mild to severe social, language and communication, and thought and behavioural impairments. |
Benchmarking | Working out how good a service is by comparing it to another service that has set a high standard. |
Care Programme Approach | A way of making sure that all those with serious mental health problems and complex needs have an assessment and care plan that all the different professionals agree on (for example, social workers and doctors). This is checked regularly to see how well the person is doing. |
Challenging behaviour | A term used to describe when someone is acting in a way that might do themselves or others harm. People who care for these people are 'challenged' to stop the harm. That is why we call it 'challenging behaviour'. |
Citizen advocate | An 'unpaid' volunteer who is independent of the services, a person with learning disabilities receives. This advocate represents the needs of the person and supports them to make sure they get their rights. |
Commissioning | Deciding what services are needed and then getting someone to provide these by signing a contract. |
Complex needs | This describes the needs a person has over and above their learning disability. For example, extra physical or mental health problems, challenging behaviour or offending behaviour. |
Continuing care | Nursing or medical help or both of a level that cannot be provided in a care or nursing home. |
Detained patient | Someone who is made to stay in hospital under a section of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 or the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. |
Direct payments | Local authorities giving people money to buy their own social care services so that they have more say in how their needs are met. |
Dual diagnosis | Where someone has both a learning disability and mental health problems. |
Early onset dementia | A term used to describe people who get dementia at an earlier age than might be expected. This leads to a variety of problems, including difficulties in remembering, making decisions, and learning new skills. These difficulties get worse as time passes. |
Guardian/ guardianship | A guardian for a child is someone appointed by a parent, or, where necessary, the sheriff, to take over parents' responsibilities and rights after a parent dies. The guardian's role applies until the child is 18. A guardian for an adult with a mental disorder is someone appointed by the sheriff who has the power to say where the person lives, gets education and training and also makes sure that doctors can see a person without difficulty. |
Learning difficulty | Pre-school and school-age children are usually described as having a learning difficulty rather than a disability when they have special educational needs that need extra or different approaches to the way they are taught. |
Multiple disability needs | Where someone needs help with several aspects of life which may include health, education, leisure, financial or housing support and being part of the community. |
Natural supports | People who help those with learning disabilities like family and friends and are not paid to do this. |
Profound disability needs | A term used to describe someone who has a very severe degree of learning disability which may be associated with complex needs. For example, this could include feeding difficulties, physical disabilities or sensory impairment. |
Psychotherapy | A psychological treatment based on talking and usually designed to help the person understand what is happening now and how to change it. |
Revenue | Money spent on day-to-day costs like paying for staff and services. |
Self-advocacy | Where people with learning disabilities promote their needs and wishes for themselves. |
Sensory impairment | A loss of sight or hearing or both. |
Social inclusion | Helping people to feel and be part of the society in which they live. They are 'socially included'. |