"If You Listen, You Will Hear Us"

A Leicestershire-produced DVD and guidelines aimed at involving people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) in the planning and commissioning of services that they use has been launched.

‘If You Listen, You Will Hear Us’ project gives a voice to all people with PMLD. It has been produced by the Leicester and Leicestershire Learning Disability Partnership Boards along with frontline staff, carers and people with learning disabilities themselves.

The Partnership Boards are made up of representatives from the local NHS, local councils, self advocates and carers. The inspiring and moving 10 minute DVD features footage and interviews with people with PMLD, staff and carers. It tells the story of how people with PMLD interact with staff, and how staff use their expertise to best communicate. It was filmed at Hastings Road Day Centre, Leicester, and Glebe
House, Loughborough.

People with PMLD have severely limited understanding and often have more than one disability, such as problems with seeing, hearing and movement. They may also have other conditions such as epilepsy or autism. This all means that patients will have complex health needs, great difficulty communicating and sometimes challenging behaviour. The guidelines cover the need to value all ways of communicating, the fact that everyone communicates, how a very personalised approach is needed for people with PMLD, how gaining views may take a long time and some educated guess work along the way, and that family carers know their relative the best and are the experts. It’s about building a long-term picture of what people PMLD like and dislike and what their wishes are.

For more information please visit: http://www.leicspart.nhs.uk/Library/LDeventrelease.pdf

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