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The British Institute of Learning Disabilities: Family Support Group BILD explored how far and in what ways family support groups could improve the quality of life of older people with a learning disability and their carers. This included helping families to plan for the future by providing information on services and state benefits as well as helping local authorities to respond to the changing needs of individual families. BILD worked in partnership with six local authorities. They provided advice and practical support on ways of working with older carers. Contact:
United Response NI With The University Of Ulster: Adult Placement Scheme Older people with learning disabilities living with their families have been shown to receive fewer services than their younger peers. This is true of short-term adult placement schemes that place people with learning disabilities with another family which simultaneously provides new opportunities for the person with learning disabilities and their family carers. This project set up an adult placement service specifically targeted at older families. It started with a strong research element supervised by Professor Roy McConkey which aimed to identify why older families are not using the current schemes and what kind of service they required. A key aspect of the project is to identify whether adult-placement can assist families to make plans for the future. Contact:
Wandsworth Rathbone, London: Living With Parents Over 55 Wandsworth Rathbone has been working with people with moderate learning disabilities for over 25 years. Its current activities include employment training and support, social opportunities and group programmes. Many of their current clients are living with their parents with little indication of any plans having been made for the future. The GOLD funding was used to develop a scheme of work which allows older people with moderate learning disabilities in this situation to explore what their future options may be and to provide the necessary support to develop realistic action plans. The organisation is mindful of the crucial role parents and other family members have in providing ongoing support and so ensured that they were also part of the project. The impact of the work on the individuals involved was evaluated. Contact:
The Housing And Support Partnership: Family Home Equity Many families are keen to use any money fled up in the home to ensure the future well being of a person with learning disabilities. The idea of leaving the home to the individual may be attractive but its value could be used in other ways to provide greater security. For example, trading the equity for maintenance of the property over the lifetime of the person with learning disabilities. This project identified what the various options are and provided model legal documents to support families to pursue them. The full report and summary are available at, Contact:
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