E D I T O R I A L

Dorothy Atkinson and Jan Walmsley

The White Paper Valuing People aimed to make a difference to

the lives of people with learning disabilities. How far is it

succeeding in ensuring choice, independence, rights and

inclusion? This issue’s ‘In conversation’ piece goes behind

the scenes of the Department of Health to see what progress

is being made in putting Valuing People’s aims and objectives

into practice. The view from the inside is that important

changes have been made in the 2 years since publication. A

marker of this is the publication of the government’s first

annual report on learning disability, Making Change Happen.

As Ian Berry, our behind-the-scenes interviewee, points out,

this is the first ever government report to parliament made

accessible to people with learning disabilities.

The themes of accessibility and inclusion are echoed to

some extent in this issue of the journal. People with learning

disabilities are included here in various aspects of research

planning and practice; in co-writing a paper on their experi-

ences; in the peer reviewing and commentary of one of the

published articles; and as co-reviewers of a book in the book

reviews section. This level of involvement in the journal is

welcomed and we hope it will inspire other people to follow

suit. This issue is not entirely devoted to inclusion, however,

as other important topics are covered. Two papers review the

literature in their respective fields and three papers address

assessment and intervention in the lives of people with

learning disabilities.

The first paper, by Anne Burke and 15 others (arranged in

alphabetical order following discussion), is on the initial

stages of a participatory research project. The participants

volunteered to become involved following their attendance

at a conference on self-advocacy and research. The study that

followed was on a topic of the group’s choosing, and

attempts were made to involve people with learning dis-

abilities at all stages of the research process, including pre-

paring the funding proposal. The following paper by Ken

Banham et al. (‘About leaving: making sense of moving on’) is

co-written by two people with learning disabilities and their

health care team. The theme is preparing for a major transi-

tion – the move from a hospital-based service to community

settings. Ken Banham and Malcolm Garrett report on their

experiences of the ‘leaving group’ and how it helped prepare

them to move on. The paper reflects their wish to share their

experiences with a wider audience.

The commentary that follows by Neil Palmer and Tiffany

England, supported by Val Williams, is a critique of the

paper by people well-placed to comment on both its content

and its presentation. This is our first commentary – we would

like to see more in the future. Although this one developed

from a peer review of a paper then in progress, this does not

preclude other routes such as invited (or submitted) com-

mentaries, particularly on papers covering controversial

topics.

The next two papers in this issue are reviews of timely and

topical themes. Fiona Kevan – in ‘Challenging behaviour and

communication difficulties’ – draws on her own experience

as well as the research literature to extend what she calls the

‘communication metaphor’. This means focusing on what the

person hears and understands, as well as what they directly

express. In so doing she highlights a possible ‘mismatch’

between the two forms of communication. Kevan’s argument

is that the mismatch may be so upsetting or confusing to the

person with learning disabilities that it becomes aversive

(and may lead to attempts to avoid it, including exhibiting

challenging behaviour). In her review of ‘Critical issues’ in

relation to people with Down’s syndrome and dementia,

Karen Watchman highlights the lack of consistent and accu-

rate information about people with this dual diagnosis. Her

paper argues in favour of a multidisciplinary approach,

involving partnership between statutory, voluntary and pri-

vate agencies, and the compilation of reliable information

about the whereabouts and needs of the people concerned

(and their families).

The final three papers report on psychological assessment

and intervention in the lives of people with learning dis-

abilities. David Newman and colleagues report on their work

with ‘Mr M’, aged 35, with the rare dual diagnosis of Down’s

syndrome and autism. As well as the work they did with

Mr M directly, the authors discuss how they developed

multidisciplinary discussion, staff education and training,

and a joint care plan. In their paper, ‘Myths and marital

discord’, Paul Withers and Lara Bennett discuss their inter-

vention into family life and into the delivery of services. As

well as helpful and practical discussions with parents and

staff caring for 5-year-old Amy, the authors report on how

they systematically revealed the underlying myths that had

grown up in the family and in social services.

# 2003 BILD Publications, British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 31, 61–62 61

The final paper, by David Glasgow, Andrew Osborne and

Justine Croxen, describes how the authors devised and

piloted an assessment tool for investigating paedophile sex-

ual interest in people with learning disabilities. The paper

raises clinical, methodological and ethical issues. In particu-

lar, the authors include a covert measure of ‘viewing time’ –

the length of time that their research participants spent

viewing certain images. The authors conclude that ‘further

study’ is required. It could also be argued that this is a topic

worthy of a commentary in a future issue.

62 Editorial

# 2003 BILD Publications, British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 31, 61–62