Services
Children’s Learning Disabilities Team
Our Learning Disability team provides different types of support tailored to meet the needs of children and young people under the age of 18 and their families.
About
We support children and young people who have a moderate to severe learning or development disability, attend a special school and are registered with a Gloucestershire GP.
We are a multi-disciplinary team made up of learning disability nurses, consultant psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and family support practitioners. We specialise in meeting the health needs of children and young people with a learning disability.
We run clinics from each of the special schools across the county. We aim to provide an inclusive and accessible service. You and your child may be seen in a range of settings such as: your home, the school your child attends or one of our sites across the county.
We also support professionals working with children who have a learning disability.
We provide assessment, intervention and support with:
- behavioural difficulties
- sleep problems
- mental health
- risk management
- puberty and sexuality issues
- epilepsy awareness and monitoring
- medication
- health promotion.
Courses
We offer the following courses to families with a child with a learning disability:
- Working to Encourage Behaviour Strategies (WEBS) A programme for parents of children with special educational needs/disability (SEND) aged 3-16 years. Two hours per week for 12 weeks building on your existing skills and introducing new strategies to try.
- Sorrow and Joy a course made up of three group sessions to support parents to recognise chronic sorrow and how it impacts on them and their family.
- SIBS A group that provides children (age 8-12) who have a sibling with a learning disability, the opportunity to share their knowledge and experiences with other children in a relaxed and playful environment. The group runs three times a year.
- Positive Behaviour Management (PBM) Available to families who are required to react to behaviours that pose risk to their child, themselves or others. The aim is to teach keep safe techniques to parents/carers and reduce the likelihood of unsafe restrictive practices. This course is available for internal referrals only.
About the Annual Health Check
Inclusion Gloucestershire has developed this video to help explain Annual Health Checks:
Referrals
Your child can be referred to our service by a professional such as your GP, school or social worker following verbal consent from the parent.
If your child does not meet the eligibility criteria for the LD team, your local CAMHS team may be able to meet your child’s needs or signpost you to an appropriate service.
More here: Children and Young people services
Resources
About Learning Disabilities
CAMHS Chesterfield Royal Hospital has developed a useful video to explain what a Learning disability is:
About challenging behaviour
Challenging behaviour can be very distressing and have a significant impact for your child, your family and your child’s carers.
We offer an initial assessment to help us understand the current situation.
We begin working with your family by completing assessments and collecting information (ABC’s) to helps us better understand the function of the behaviour. We will then provide advice and strategies to help your child and your family.
The Challenging Behaviour Foundation provides information about positive ways of managing behaviour: www.challengingbehaviour.org.uk
www.bild.org.uk has developed videos about people with learning disabilities and family carers talking about their experiences, about what needs to change and how.
This is their video introduction to Positive Behaviour Support PBS:
About sleep problems
Getting enough sleep is essential for our physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. Sleep deprivation can affect our attention, concentration, memory, behaviour, makes us feel anxious, irritable, overactive, aggressive and low in mood.
Looking after a child who has a sleep problem can be exhausting and have a significant impact on them and the whole family. Once we have completed your child’s initial assessment, we’ll arrange to visit you, or invite you to attend one of our sleep clinics. We can also offer support over the phone or sometimes via e-mail or by post.
Our nurses have completed sleep practitioner training and can provide useful advice and resources.
Supporting services at GHC
Contact details
Telephone:
0300 421 4224
If you need to cancel or rearrange an appointment, please contact us by phone.
E-mail:
Address:
Evergreen House, Cheltenham, GL53 9DZ
9am-5pm Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).
Other Children’s Services
Home Safety
Find out more >
Wheelchair Services
Find out more >
School Nursing
Find out more >
Health visiting
Find out more >
