- We visited 63 supported living settings and residential care homes to find out what people with a learning disability were doing between 8 – 9pm at night.
- We asked about whether people had gone out for the evening, were up, were getting ready for bed or were in bed.
- We also asked about what time people had eaten their evening meal.
- We found that most people who lived in settings managed by a care provider were getting ready for bed or were in bed when we visited.
- People who were getting ready for bed or were in bed had eaten an early evening meal.
- People who were living independent lives with support for their tenancy agreement were not ready for bed when we visited. Some people had gone out for the evening.
Here’s the link to the Big Bed Time Audit Paper – http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/nZmMyCEzNDjqGunKPwcJ/full
This week saw the publication of a piece of research by Elaine James and the Adult PSW Network Co-Chairs Rob Mitchell and Mark Harvey. The research paper titled ‘An inquiry by Social Workers into evening routines in community living settings for adults with Learning Disabilities’ looks at the life when living your life in care settings. This researched involved the collective efforts of overs 70 social workers wanting to understand the reality of the of choice and real lives.
We were extremely pleased to when Paul Richards ( @Heavy_Load ) of Stay up Late and Gig Buddies fame agreed to write a blog challenging some of the concepts that lead to such arrangements and suggesting what we need to do. What’s clear is that as Social Workers we need to take responsibility for such restricted lives and be part of the solution alongside citizens. Over to you Paul……
Should I stay or should…
View original post 1,165 more words
Social Work, Cats and Rocket Science 