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-advocate.

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

This is a lifelong developmental disability that affects the way a person communicates and relates to people around them. People with autism can often have learning disabilities but everyone with the condition shares a difficulty in making sense of the world.

Autistic spectrum disorder

Autism can happen in people with different degrees of learning disability as well as in people of average intelligence, for example, those who have Asperger’s syndrome. Because of this wide range, we talk about a spectrum of autistic disorder.

Behaviour analysis

Looking into the cause and effect of behaviour based on what has happened in the past.

Benchmarking

Working out how good a service is by comparing it to another service that has set a high standard.

Bridging finance

Money that the Scottish Executive gives to health boards to help them set up new services in the community while they are still paying for running hospitals.

Brokerage service

Somewhere people with learning disabilities can go to get independent help in deciding on and buying the services they need.

Capital

Money spent on buying things that will last longer than a year, for example, land, buildings, equipment.

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.

Clinical engineer

Someone who helps to improve mobility in a variety of ways including providing wheelchairs.

Cognitive behavioural

Ways of understanding and changing what

approaches

people do and feel — mostly used by psychologists and psychiatrists.

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.

Continence management

Trying to help people who have problems with bladder and bowel control.

Continuing care

Nursing or medical help or both of a level that cannot be provided in a care or nursing home.

Curator bonis

A person appointed by the court to manage the whole of another person’s property and money.

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.

Domiciliary services

Care services provided to a person in their own home.

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.

Mainstream

Generally available to all members of the community.

Managed clinical network

Where healthcare professionals who have an interest in the same area of work share their knowledge and resources to get the best care for patients. A network can be local, regional or national depending on what the work is.

Mapping of services

Finding out what services there are and what they are like.

Mobility

Being able to move from one place to another with or without help.

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.

Palliative care

Managing care for someone who is not going to get better.

Peripatetic support staff

Staff who go from place to place to do their work rather than staying in a single centre.

Post school education

The range of education that takes place after school leaving age. It may include further education, community education, higher education, adults going back to school, other kinds of informal education and vocational training.

Prevalence data

A way of working out how many people in a population are likely to have a learning disability.

Professions Allied to

These are physiotherapy, occupational

Medicine(PAMs)

therapy, chiropody, radiography, dietetics, remedial gymnastics, orthoptics, art, music and drama therapies.

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.

Record of Needs

A document opened by an education authority for a child with pronounced, specific or complex educational needs which will lead to regular review and which helps to fund the best way of providing what is needed.

Rectal diazepam

This is a drug inserted up a person’s bottom to stop severe epileptic fits.

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’.

Suction machine

Equipment used to remove saliva and so on, from the mouth and the back of the throat.

Therapeutic interventions

Giving treatment of any kind — drugs, physical or psychological therapy — to promote a person’s well-being.

TUPE

This stands for the Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employment Regulations) 1981. It is an agreement about how staff are to be treated if they need to change jobs.

Tutors

The Court of Session can appoint a tutor-at-law or a tutor-dative to an adult with incapacity. Tutors-at-law manage the adult’s personal welfare, property and financial affairs. Tutors-dative only have powers over an adult’s personal welfare and the court may limit that to particular areas of welfare.