Supporting Leisure for People with Learning Disabilities
What works and what doesn’t work when supporting people with learning disabilities to take part in leisure activities.
Author: Ruwani Ampegama
What do we mean by leisure activities?
Leisure activities are activities that individuals take part in their free time which do not include work, study, sleep, or household tasks (Li et al., 2021). Engagement in leisure activities is known to benefit both physical and mental wellbeing of everyone (Fancourt et al., 2021). Despite this, people with a learning disability are known to engage less in meaningful leisure activities (Beart et al., 2001). People with a learning disability have reduced ability to understand new or complex information and a reduced ability in social functioning and independence (Valuing People 2001).
Barriers to engaging with leisure activities
As engagement with leisure activities involve all of these to varying levels, people with a learning disability will continue to experience barrier in accessing and participating in leisure, particularly due to lack of skills (Lancioni et al 2020). It is therefore important to identify skills and knowledge required for accessing and engaging in leisure activities and provide interventions to support people with a learning disability to developing these.
Various interventions have been implemented to address the skills and knowledge gaps in people with a learning disability (Chadwick et al 2023, Parsons et al 2009, Southby 2019, McConkey & Collins 2009, Hassan 2016 and Bates et al 2012). What is evidenced in the above literature and experience working in the field, has led the researcher to identify the need to explore further what would enhance people with a learning disability accessing and engaging with meaningful leisure activities. To do this, a research study has been conducted to find out from professionals and paid staff working in these services their own experiences and views on interventions to build skills in people with learning disabilities that will enable them to access and engage in leisure activities of choice.
Research methodology
The research methodology will be defined by pragmatism and grounded in the extensive experiences of operating in social care settings. This will ensure a feasible approach that engages with the complexity of providing social care and the system in which the participants are employed.
This is a qualitative study as this is seeking to understand and extract useful information from participants experiences, behaviours and views that relates to the stated aims (Gill and Baillie 2013). Qualitative methods are interpretive as the researcher would need to make sense of the subjective and personal views and experiences of the participants with the topic been explored (Denzin and Lincoln 2018).
Furthermore, this research is explorative in nature and is designed as a mono method qualitative study and would be using a single data collection method of semi structured interviews, followed by a qualitative analytical procedure. Moreover, this research will be using a deductive approach to develop and gain better knowledge in addition to what is already seen in the systematic review of the related literature.
In addition, the researcher is a learning disability nurse who has many years of experience working within UK based health and social care services providing care and support for people with a learning disability. It is hoped that having this background in the field will promote building and establishing trust and rapport with the participants and will lead to the researcher gaining in-depth understanding and meaning of information shared in interviews. (Saunders et al 2019). Semi-structured questions starting with key-questions that would open the opportunities for both researcher and participants to explore the relevant areas of interest in more detail (Guest et al 2013).
As the topic would relate to all participants practice area, it is expected that they would find the research topic to be of interest and relevant to their current work settings. Using semi structured questions would enable the researcher and participants to delve into any emerging thoughts in a naturalistic and interactive manner.
Research interviews
The interviews will be conducted virtually, as this would allow participants from all over England to take part and virtual may be preferred by or more convenient for some participants (Cresswell 1998).
The semi-structured questions will be designed following a predetermined list of themes that have emerged from the systematic review that has been carried out by the researcher on the topic. Each theme will be systematically explored with each participant, which will enable the comparison of responses to each theme leading to identifying the most useful interventions in relation to the research question. The researcher will, however, be open to flexibility, and be prepared to omit a set theme or modify questions within a theme to fit in with the experience and background of participants if necessary.
Research outcomes
It is hoped that the findings of the study will lead to a publication identifying what does work and what doesn’t work in relation to developing skills to enable people with learning disability access leisure activities. Social care providers would also be able to use these findings in promoting practices that will enhance the uptake of leisure activities among people with learning disability.
How to participate
To take part in this study, or for further information, please email rha9@kent.ac.uk
About the author
Ruwani is a learning disability nurse with over 30 years of experience working within the UK health and social care services that support adults with learning disability. Her last role was working as head of education and training at the Estia centre which specialise in learning disability and autism related training and research. In addition to her nursing qualification, she has a degree in Health & Social Care practice and a master’s in business management. She is currently engaging in a fulltime PhD programme on Intellectual Disability at the University of Kent. She continues to be passionate about and working towards promoting good practice that will lead to better quality life experience for adults with learning disability.
References
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