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0:00
Hello, my name is Ruth Northway,
and I'm Professor of Learning Disability
Nursing at the University of South Wales.
I've been asked to give this talk about
the role of the nurse in supporting
the health and well-being of people with
learning or intellectual disabilities.
0:15
First, however,
I want to say a little about why I think
it's important that this talk takes place.
We tend to talk about people
with learning disabilities, but
it's important to think about who
people with learning disabilities are.
They're children and young people;
sometimes we know that the child has
a learning disability immediately after
birth or sometimes even before birth.
They grow and they become young people,
move through the teenage years and
become adults.
Increasingly, we're seeing people learning
disabilities ageing as the general
population ages, so we have a large
number of people who are considered to be
older adults with all the health problems
which older adults generally face.
But they're also men and women, some
people with learning disabilities are also
parents and have children of their own.
The reason I mention this and
the reason I encourage you to think about
it is because not all nurses are going to
specialise in working with people with
learning disabilities, however at some
point in your career you are going to work
with people with learning disabilities.
All nurses work with people
with learning disabilities.
Because of that, it's important that
all nurses have got the knowledge and
skills to do this.
1:27
The aims of this presentation are firstly
to increase your understanding of
the nature of learning disabilities.
Second, to enhance your awareness of
the health needs of people with learning
disabilities.
Third, we're going to examine some
of the barriers to healthcare that
are experienced by many people
with learning disabilities.
Finally, to think about the ways in
which nurses can enhance the health and
well-being of people with
learning disabilities.
