Members of the Community Learning Disabilities Team

Members of the Community Learning Disabilities Team
SOCIAL WORKERS/CARE MANAGERS
These are professionals who will provide community care assessments for
people with intellectual disabilities, to identify what their needs are and to
develop a care package to meet those needs within the available resources.
The care package may include the use of day services, employment
schemes, special education for adults, residential care, supported housing, travel passes, sorting out an electricity bill, or disability living allowance.
Social workers/care managers are responsible for providing care management services under the Community Care Act (1990). They commission a package of services for their client and they are responsible for reviewing and monitoring it. A social worker is a professional who has a recognized qualification in social work. Some Community Learning Disabilities Teams will employ care managers, who will do the same job as a social worker but do not necessarily have a social work qualification. They may have other qualifications, such as occupational therapists or nurses.

COMMUNITY NURSES
These are Registered Nurses in Learning Disabilities (RNLD, previously
RNMH). They will assess and develop care plans to meet the health needs
of individuals. Particular areas that they may specialize in are sexual
health, continence and epilepsy. A big part of their role is promoting
healthy living.

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGISTS
Clinical psychologists in Community Learning Disabilities Teams will do
similar work to those who work in the Community Mental Health Teams,
such as working out interventions to reduce distress and promote psychological
well-being. However, in Community Learning Disabilities Teams
they may alsowork with peoplewhose behaviour is challenging and try to
find outwhy people are behaving in particularways. They may be asked to
assess people to see if they are eligible to use learning disabilities services.
Sometimes they will assess a person’s capacity to give consent, for example if they needed an operation. They also work with staff members (e.g. in residential care homes).
PHYSIOTHERAPISTS2
A physiotherapist is a health care professional who is concerned with
human functioning and movement. They will use a wide range of treatment
techniques to restore movement and function within the body. Their
work may include teaching people various exercises to help maintain
mobility.
OCCUPATIONAL TTHERAPISTS
An occupational therapist (OT) will assess how the individual’s disability
affects their ability to do everyday things. They will devise interventions
that aim to maximize the level of functioning and independence in all
aspects of life. Interventions may include teaching the person new skills,
such as cooking for themselves. They will also assess the person’s environment and recommend changes to enhance the level of functioning, such as introducing aids and adaptations.
PSYCHIATRISTS
The psychiatrist in the Community Learning Disabilities Team will do
similar work to those that work in the Community Mental Health Team,
but they have specialized in the mental health needs of people with intellectual disabilities.SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPISTS3
Speech and language therapists are specialists in communication disorders.
They work to assess, diagnose and develop programmes of care to
maximize a person’s communication. They also work with people who
have swallowing, eating and drinking difficulties. The speech and
language therapist will work directly with the person who has communication difficulties but will also be involved in working with those around them. Such work might involve teaching carers sign language or introducing alternative means of communication such as visual timetables.
CHALLENGING BEHAVIOUR WORKERS
These are staff that concentrate on working with people whose behaviour
is challenging. They will work closely with carers, looking at the causes
and functions of the challenging behaviour and develop interventions to
reduce the challenging behaviour and replace it with more appropriate
constructive behaviour. It should be noted that someCommunity Learning
Disabilities Teams do not have these workers; in those instances the psychologists may work with the people that need this service.