SLD/ PMLD Induction Pack for Adults h.bradley.2@bham.ac.uk Price - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The University of Birmingham SLD/ PMLD Induction Pack for Adults h.bradley.2@bham.ac.uk Price £150 1

Session 1 Understanding Severe and Profound Learning Difficulties SECTION 1: 2 Identifying Adults Needs

Severe Learning Difficulties • Main disability is cognitive impairment • Other disabilities eg: communication, co- ordination • Need support across most areas of daily living • Need support to learn self-help & social skills SECTION 1: 3 Identifying Adults Needs

Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties • Main disability is profound cognitive impairment • Often accompanied by complex needs eg: physical disability &/ or medical needs • High level of support across all areas of life • Need a sensory approach to learning SECTION 1: 4 Identifying Adults Needs

Adults with SLD/ PMLD have difficulties with: • processing information • problem solving and they see and hear using skills in new situations • using strategies for remembering things • understanding and using language • retaining information and building up general • making connections knowledge between ideas • thinking and understanding the world around them SECTION 1: 5 Identifying Adults Needs

Slow progress in learning • Adults with SLD/ PMLD take a long time to learn new skills. • They need a lot of repetition (the more cognitively impaired the more repetition needed) SECTION 1: 6 Identifying Adults Needs

Diagram of how we think memory works Stimulus Sensory organs perception Sensory memory (millisecond Š 1 second) attention Working memory repetition forgetting (less than 1 minute) encoding consolidation Long term memory retrieval (days, months, years) SECTION 1: 7 Identifying Adults Needs

Working memory is vitally important for learning • Adults with SLD/ PMLD have a small working memory • Perhaps people with the most profound learning difficulties have almost no working memory at all • This might explain how even oft repeated events and people are unrecognized SECTION 1: 8 Identifying Adults Needs

Paying attention to the most salient features is also important The picture represents the difficulty some adults may have with focusing on a particular new skill - it may be as obscure as the pair of scissors. SECTION 1: 9 Identifying Adults Needs

Motivation • It is important to assess any factors that may interfere with motivation e.g. discomfort, illness, tiredness. • Try and make interactions enjoyable, relevant and motivating. • Make lists of activities that are particularly enjoyable to different individuals. SECTION 1: 10 Identifying Adults Needs