This unique resource book explores what wellbeing, community participation and independence mean to young people with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD). Bringing together results of an extensive survey of more than 100 schools that teach young people with PMLD, the authors present many innovative ways in which schools are working to ensure young people with PMLD have lives of value that are as rich and meaningful as possible. Organised into three cohesive parts, this book provides a comprehensive insight into established theories and current perspectives on wellbeing and independence for people with PMLD before exploring the results from the Lives Lived Well survey and other international research, and then it helpfully illustrates best practice in action with a close look at an established, very successful specialist school. This book can be used as a guide, resource and inspiration for adults sharing their lives with young people with PMLD – whether practitioners or parents – and concludes by asking what we can learn from these young people to support us all in living life to the full.

A Different View of Curriculum and Assessment links a theoretical pedagogical model with a sympathetic practical model of curriculum and assessment difference for those with PMLD, CLD and SLD. Split into two parts, this accessible resource combines theoretical explanations with first-hand accounts of how this works in educational establishments, through the analysis of evidence-based practice carried out in a number of English special (specialist) schools. The expert authors challenge the notion that a national, or common core standards, curriculum, however expertly differentiated, is fit-for-purpose for the PMLD, CLD and SLD populations in any country. A Different View offers cogent and reasoned arguments for considering that irrespective of age, such learners learn differently to their neuro-typical, conventionally developing peers. If they learn differently, this book shows how we should be teaching them differently. Reflecting the centrality of process over product, this book will clearly explain how each individual learner might be enabled and facilitated to become the best they can be and do the best they can do, in order to fully realise their potential as equal and independent citizens.

This book aims to raise awareness about the possibility of achieving the goals of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), in order for all disabled people to enjoy the benefit of human rights. The stories of people who have been supported to enjoy their rights and their citizenship will enable readers to focus on how services and support can enable people with a learning disability to have their rights upheld, with an outcome of citizenship, independence and achievement. Despite the UNCRDP being in place since 2006, a significant number of learning disability service provider organisations and professionals in the UK are not aware of its existence. This book aims to bridge the gap between policy and practice to demonstrate the value of a human rights approach as the foundation for services and support for people with a learning disability.

This book provides important philosophical insights concerning the kind of creatures we are such that we can experience something we understand as well-being, with these insights then being applied to various areas of social policy and welfare practice. The author defends what he calls The Ontology of Well-Being Thesis (TOWT), addressing ontological questions about the human condition, and how these questions are fundamental to issues concerning what we might know about human well-being and how we should promote it. Yet, surprisingly, these ontological questions are often side-lined in academic, political, and policy and practice based debates about well-being. Addressing these questions, head-on, six features of the human condition are identified via TOWT: human embodiment, finiteness, sociability, cognition, evaluation, and agency. The main argument of the thesis is that these features reveal the conflicting character of human experiences, which can, in turn, have a profound bearing on our experience of well-being. Notably, it is our conflicting experiences of time, emotion, and self-consciousness, which can potentially help us experience well-being in complex and multi-dimensional ways. The author then applies these insights to various social policies and welfare practices, concerning, for example, pensions, disability, bereavement counselling, social prescribing within health settings, the promotion of mental health, and co-production practices. This book is of importance to philosophers, social policy analysts, and welfare practitioners and is also relevant to the fields of psychology, sociology, politics, and the health sciences.

With a focus on the progression and dismantlement of the Asylum system, this book examines key issues around the policy and practice of in-patient mental health provision in the UK, making comparisons with similar services in other parts of the world. Part narrative history and critical analysis, part autoethnography, this unique volume critiques the ethics of early policy decisions which led to the closure of the old Victorian asylums and the advent of care in the community, identifying continuing issues of institutionalisation, containment, and segregation. Drawing parallels with the continuing dilemmas of ‘inclusion’ in other areas of public policy and provision, chapters discuss controversial issues such as the response to the Covid pandemic, the influence of ‘anti-psychiatry’, and the continuing use of electro convulsive therapy. Ultimately, the book makes a vital theoretical and practical contribution to the continuing debate around in-patient mental health care in the 21st century. The book will be of interest to academics, researchers and policy makers in the fields of healthcare policy and history of mental health provision more broadly. Psychiatrists interested in the history of the asylum system in the UK, as well as present day mental health professionals will also find the book of use.

Revitalizing Special Education presents neither a pessimistic nor a Pollyannish view of past or future, but rather is a careful assessment of some of the greatest threats to robust special education posed by distorted and misguided thinking about what special education is and does.

Curricula for Teaching Children and Young People with Severe or Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties offers a range of compelling arguments for a distinct and separate pedagogical approach to the learning needs of the most educationally challenging pupils. This book, written in accessible, common sense and non-academic language, provides an easy-to-follow alternative curriculum specifically designed to enhance and enrich the learning of children with profound and multiple learning difficulties. Chapter by chapter, guidelines and support are offered in key curriculum areas, some of which include: Cognition Language, Literacy and Communication Mathematical Physical Sensory Creative Care Play Problem solving. This highly practical resource is essential reading for any educational professional, parents, school governors, teachers, teaching assistants, therapists and indeed anyone involved with maximising the educational opportunities of those with profound learning difficulties.

Intensive Interaction is an approach to teaching the fundamentals of communication to children and adults who have severe learning difficulties or autism, and who are still at an early stage of communication development. Its simplicity and effectiveness has been one of the major themes in the widespread practitioner dissemination that has taken place during the last twenty years. Despite the human simplicity of the approach, intensive interaction relates to, or is influenced in practice by, a wide range of interconnecting theories and academic standpoints. With contributions from leading authorities, Dave Hewett provides a comprehensive and detailed description of the theoretical landscape of a now established methodology. The most prominent related theories and issues are reviewed, with Intensive Interaction set within their contexts. Issues covered include: - the approach within education and the curriculum - intensive interaction within adult services - effects on organisational change and development - neurology and learning outcomes - intensive Interaction and the Central Triad of autism - emotional learning and development outcomes - adoption of Intensive Interaction Providing a timely theoretical and academic overview to Intensive Interaction practice, this book marks a substantial theoretical waypoint to future development of interactive approaches generally. It is a vital resource of in-depth knowledge for anyone studying Special Educational Needs and Education. Dave Hewett is an independent educational consultant and has published widely on Intensive Interaction since his role in its development.

Being a parent of a neurodivergent child can be challenging and exhausting. It can feel like a constant battle to be heard and to gain the support that you and your child need. This book provides an accessible overview of the SEND system and how it works, so that you can successfully untangle and navigate the system and draw upon the best resources offered. The handbook is divided into three main parts: SEND systems, policy and legislation; support for your child in school; and looking forward. Chapters: Introduce the world of SEND systems and break down key documentation and the roles and responsibilities of school staff Take you on your child’s journey through school and explore key aspects from assessment and EHCPs, to funding and gaining further support for your child Look ahead and consider important transitions through each of the school phases in your child’s journey and allows you to acknowledge some of your own fears and challenges as a parent Include a range of both practical and reflective activities to bring each area to life The voices of parents and carers are woven in throughout the book, as well as key staff who you might encounter, from occupational therapists to speech and language therapists. This comprehensive guide will be an essential tool to support your journey to get the best from your child’s school experience.

Promoting Equitable Access to Education for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment offers a suitable vocabulary and developmental route map to examine the changing influences on promoting equitable access to education for learners with vision impairment in different contexts and settings, throughout a given educational pathway. Bringing together a wide range of perspectives, this book argues that inclusive educational systems and teaching approaches should focus upon promoting and sustaining a balanced curriculum. It provides an analysis of how a suitable curriculum balance can be promoted and sustained through the stages of a given educational pathway to ensure equitable access and progression for all learners with vision impairment. The authors draw on the United Kingdom as a country study to illustrate the complex ecosystem within which learners with vision impairment are educated. Structured around a framework which provides a conceptually coherent and practical balance between universal and specialist approaches, this book is a relevant read for educators, academics, and researchers involved in vision impairment education as well as officials in government and non-government organisations engaged in developing education policy relating to inclusive education and disability.