Professor Glynis Murphy has played a key role in developing new guidance on addressing behaviour that challenges in people with a learning disability.
Professor Murphy, who is co-director of Kent’s Tizard Centre, was chair of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) group that developed the new guidance.
The new guidance says there needs to be a shift away from an over-reliance on antipsychotic medication given to people with a learning difficulty to manage challenging behaviour.
NICE estimates that prevalence rates for behaviour that other people find difficult or upsetting are around 5–15% in educational, health or social care services for people with a learning disability.
Rates are higher in teenagers and people in their early 20s, and in particular settings – for example, 30–40% in hospital settings. People with a learning disability who also have communication difficulties, autism, sensory impairments, sensory processing difficulties and physical or mental health problems (including dementia) may be more likely to develop behaviour that challenges.
The areas covered by the guideline include the support and interventions that should be available for family members and carers of people with a learning difficulty and behaviour that challenges which aim to improve the health and well-being of the family and carers.
Professor Murphy, who is Professor of Clinical Psychology and Disability, said the guideline ‘clarifies the evidence that exists and the actions needed to improve the lives of people with learning disabilities and their families’.