Prevention & Early Intervention Eric Emerson, Chris Hatton & Janet Robertson Centre for Disability Research Lancaster University

Background ‘Prevention is the first step....’

What Do We Mean by Prevention? Primary prevention stops need/difficulty occurring Secondary prevention intervenes early to prevent an emerging need or difficulty from getting worse We can think about preventing the development of learning disabilities the development of specific needs (and need for support and services) among people with learning disabilities

Prevention is Possible In general, giving children a better start in life will prevent some children developing significant emotional or behavioural needs This also appears to be true for children with learning disabilities

Risk of Persistent Conduct Difficulties Across Age 4/5, 6/7 & 8/9

Prevention is Possible We know quite a bit about why some children and young people with learning disabilities show challenging behaviours Communication, power and control Untreated physical and mental health problems

Do Prevention Services Work? In general, YES In relation to challenging behaviours and learning disabilities, we just do not know But We know they should We know that they do not have to be that effective to be cost effective So why do we not take this issue more seriously?