Analysis and Intervention in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities - PDip, MSc

The aim of this module is to teach students about research methodology and the knowledge needed to access and interpret the research literature. For those who take the statistical analysis element, the aim is also to teach appropriate statistical techniques for the analysis of quantitative data. The emphasis will be on methods of data collection and analysis which will be useful in practice settings, so that advanced multivariate techniques will not be taught.

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All academic modules on the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities programmes are taught using a combination of web-based resources, reading, the introductory workshop and a one-week workshop in the Spring. For each module, there will be web-based materials including video-recorded lectures, web-based discussions/seminars, and quizzes/group exercises. Students are also expected to conduct their own literature searches and follow-up the core reading and the reference lists for each topic covered

The aim of this module is to teach the basic facts about the nature and origins of intellectual and developmental disabilities, including definitions of learning disability, epidemiology, biological, social and environmental causes of learning disability. In addition, characteristics of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities will be considered (including cognitive and social characteristics) along with issues such as autism, ageing, transition, early intervention, physical & mental health, parenting, sexuality and people with intellectual and developmental disability in the criminal justice system.

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Students will receive training on behaviour analysis and broader systems of support that have emerged from the field of behavioural science to support individuals diagnosed with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. The module will critically evaluate the historical application of behavioural approaches, focusing on ethical and empowering support frameworks that can improve people's quality of life. Training will cover basic behavioural principles that link to how we learn, assessment strategies to better understand behaviour within its context, strategies to support individuals that might be exhibiting behaviours described as challenging, and ways to promote communication and the development of skills.

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The aim of this module is to give students an understanding of organisational issues involved in learning disability services, including institutionalisation and deinstitutionalisation, theories of normalisation and criticisms of these theories, methods of analysing quality of life and care and ways of producing change in services. This module is taught as a web-based guided study module with seminars at several points in the first term. For AIIDD students, this module is closely linked to the service placement and discussion and application of web-based units will occur during placement supervision.

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All students will write one essay on a topic which requires them to draw on material from the service issues, social psychology and behavioural analysis and intervention modules. This will be done over the course of the year for full time students and in the second year for part time students and will be submitted during the third term of the final year.

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All students will be required to work in two different placements during their programme. This module is the first of these two placements. In the service placement students work as a team led by academic staff assessing the quality of care of selected residential or day services for children or adults with Intellectual and developmental disabilities, helping services to help develop or review their existing action plan to deal with issues raised and monitoring the effect of the implementation of the action plan/intervention. This placement will be organised into a series of workshops and face-to-face briefing sessions at the University during preparation and analysis stages and blocks of time in the placement service(s) during data collection stages. Full-time students will do more of the initial data collection and will finish their placement at the end of the Spring term. Part-time students will go back to monitor progress made by the service during the early part of the summer months.

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All students will be required to work in two different placements during their programme. The clinical placement is the second placement, during which individual studies will have a clinical psychology attachment (normally to a local clinical psychologist or psychological therapist on a learning disability team).

Both full-time and part-time students will spend two to three days per week on clinical placements (i.e. between May and September, with two weeks annual leave). Part-time students will do this during their second years.

Prior to starting in the placement, students attend a workshops on campus to learn about assessment methods and the expectations of case work and what they need to keep in mind in planning and implementing the assessment part of the placement. In between assessment and intervention phases, students also attend another workshop at the university that will focus on intervention and where they will hear previous students present their case studies.

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During the first term of the course students will develop ideas for their research project and will be given the opportunity to choose a research project proposed and supervised by members of the course team or other Tizard staff ( course handbook for the list of topics for the current year). Students who choose to design their own project will be allocated a project supervisor. Students following the MSc in Analysis and Intervention in Intellectual and Developmental Disability are required to do an empirical project. All other students can choose between either an empirical or a non-empirical (e.g. policy or research review) project.

Students develop a proposal (assessed) for their research project with advice from their supervisor and apply for ethical approval either to the Tizard Ethics Committee (Ethical Review Checklist available on web-based resources) or to another ethics committee such as those in the NHS.

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