Implementing skills-based treatment in naturalistic contexts.

Price H. Tizard Learning Disability Review 2026;31(2):127–137.

Where children develop behaviours that challenge (BtC), these can affect their, and their family’s, quality of life. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of Practical functional assessment (PFA) and Skills-based treatment (SBT), delivered in naturalistic settings, in the United Kingdom. The quantitative data indicated that each of the children developed skills relating to communication, tolerance and cooperation.

Available with an NHS OpenAthens password for eligible users

https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcomm.knowledgeshare.nhs.uk%2Fls%2Fclick%3Fupn%3Du001.f0rOB6b6BpwM3cmYz-2FvR8dYqHO1CN3WrcIRcUyJ6llWArzMoWmUizNdhV2pMi65KbjncMDBBH-2Bw7UuSNDtTwygH9yrq8J1ASDbxWzdtZz78NkExa1vkecDRDUYm-2B3tu0Pt3QiydacXPUoeq-2F7d8eMw-3D-3D05i__dQQJK-2Bh2VwYZPbMqkB87WA32QI3f-2BWEMx-2B25S5eglRzEceQyoGl8Uq4kHGL0icBfSUlzEwdhyjMhf5Iu2DBKqMTiDMs0h0ANaTAAONC0aGP0FebY1SF4AmCS6k4271k9-2F78vVizoU2k6vo4TsHPrja7kTkYATOwQM9IFRGLIqqxrdccwBxWUqAgN82EuTzmRUY9dhMNKRFmy4eLVcZNlvR121L04srhOBWmZETk1vQqumHxBsQ-2Fj6S97Ri9U9qSLI9RjaWU4DEPk6NAJWsvo54cajRW97ZFezPzBMYo8x-2Fa8Hr5GR-2BaPeORhDsZ0a8io2jQMBGjeNtK85dWQwl7doaFuhySGHExstrWctlhxA06UXl6k-2BQc1BNa1W13U-2BxtY&data=05%7C02%7CAcademic.Library%40lscft.nhs.uk%7C90a1a114d95142b0522f08ded5b3cab9%7C0418b648afb0430094ba33f2b09eb31f%7C1%7C0%7C639183165345711590%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=S6xvra1f%2Bwff1f%2FBApBFYaMpDHgzs69oMtKX85KZkWQ%3D&reserved=0

Child and Adolescent Mental Health & Learning Disabilities current awareness bulletin

from Library and Knowledge Services

A big thanks to our co-workers at Library and Knowledge Services!

A copy of the latest Child and Adolescent Mental Health & Learning Disabilities current awareness bulletin is now available. We appreciate your thoughts on how this update has impacted your practice. Please take a moment to complete this survey.

Your feedback is highly valued.

To view the full abstracts, click on the link in the article titles. If you have any problems accessing any of the articles, contact the library: Academic.Library@lscft.nhs.uk, and we’ll sort a copy out for you.

If you would like to receive any of our other bulletins, please contact the library enquiries email address:

  • Dementia and Old Age Psychiatry
  • Adult mental health
  • Neurorehabilitation and neuropsychiatry
  • Physical health in mental health
  • Learning disabilities
  • Forensic and secure mental health services
  • Family therapy update
  • Innovation and improvement update
  • CNTW Staff Publications update (monthly)

Some articles may require an Open Athens account which you can register for at OpenAthens | Registration

If you have any questions or need help don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at Academic.Library@lscft.nhs.uk

Or come to see us at The Gosall Library | Lantern Centre | Vicarage Lane | Preston | PR2 8DW

Research in Practice

Dear All,

All staff can create a free account with research in practice. The evidence has already been evaluated and outcomes shared to make it easier for staff to keep up to date or make implementations to practice. You can register here: Create account | Research in Practice     The role of Adult and Children’s Services in better supporting parents with a learning disability 
A newbriefinghighlights how Adult Services can better support parents with a learning disability– an issue linked with increased involvement in the child protection system and, too often, family separation. 

Research shows that parents with learning disabilities are disproportionately represented in the child protection system and more likely to have their children removed. The publication forms part of a growing body of work that aims to strengthen practice, clarify legal responsibilities, and improve outcomes for parents and children.  Supporting Parents with a learning disability – the role of adult services: Research Briefing (2026) | Research in Practice

Resources for Health Play Services for England

Play Well Toolkit

NHS England

Image created with AI

This toolkit, produced by NHS England and Starlight, will help commissioners, service managers, health play practitioners and clinical leaders to design, plan and deliver high-quality health play services for babies, children and young people. It includes guidelines, recommended standards and a quality checklists.

NHS England » Play well – resources for health play services for England

Commissioner’s concerns about children’s mental health

A report by the Children’s Commissioner Rachel de Souza on children’s mental health services has found an “alarming” postcode lottery when it comes to accessing children’s mental health services. The report follows the Commissioner’s The Big Ask, which surveyed children across England about their mental health. The report states one in five children said they were unhappy with their mental health and Ms De Souze said she is particularly worried about older teenage girls as two in five of 16 to 17 year old girls said they were unhappy with their mental health.

Children’s mental health services 2021-2022 | Children’s Commissioner for England (childrenscommissioner.gov.uk)

Covid 19

Current awareness updates

JCVI update on advice for COVID-19 vaccination of children aged 5 to 11.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2022.
[JCVI advises a non-urgent offer of two 10 mcg doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (Comirnaty®) to children aged 5 to 11 years of age who are not in a clinical risk group. The intention of this offer is to increase the immunity of vaccinated individuals against severe COVID-19 in advance of a potential future wave of COVID-19. Published 16 February 2022]

Growing problems, in depth: The impact of Covid-19 on health care for children and young people in England.
Quality Watch; 2022.
[“…The sharp increase in children and young people with mental health problems is a serious concern. Services are facing unprecedented levels of demand, and young people are waiting longer to receive mental health care. In particular, there has been a surge in eating disorder cases, and conditions are deteriorating to the extent that a greater number of children and young people are attending A&E departments…”]

Social care reform: an independent review by Baroness Cavendish.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2022.
[A report looking at how the government can lock in the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic to build a more robust, sustainable and joined-up system of social care.]

NHS Confederation

Tackling the increase in demand for mental health support in children and young people

Recent survey results reinforce the urgent need for more funding to support the growing demand for children and young people’s mental health services.

Read more here.

Public Health

Current awareness updates

Prostate cancer.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[This quality standard covers managing prostate cancer in people referred to secondary care or having follow-up for prostate cancer in primary care. It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement. In December 2021, changes were made to align this quality standard with the updated NICE guideline on prostate cancer.]

Combined adult and paediatric respiratory clinical assessment service (RCAS) hubs for acute respiratory infection.
NHS England and NHS Improvement; 2021.
[This document supports systems to plan for a likely rise in respiratory infections (for example, Covid-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza and other infections) this winter.]

Our Vision for the Women’s Health Strategy for England.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[Analysis of call for evidence consultation response has informed development of this document, which is published alongside the consultation response. This document sets out the government’s vision and the publication of the strategy will follow in 2022.]

Children and young people’s mental health:eighth Report of Session 2021–22.
House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee; 2021.
[This report calls for urgent action to prevent mental health services slipping backwards as a result of additional demand created by the pandemic and the scale of unmet need prior to it. MPs found that despite progress in numbers of young people receiving treatment, it was unacceptable that more than half with a diagnosable condition pre-pandemic do not receive the mental health support they need.]

Public Health

Current awareness updates

Children and young people’s mental health.
House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee; 2021.
[According to NHS data, the mental health of children and young people in England has worsened since 2017. Even before the pandemic, children and young people were facing a mental health crisis. Three lockdowns and the social distancing requirements of the pandemic have exacerbated the struggle with the loss of normal social structures, being unable to socialise in person with peers and not being able to attend school or university.]

Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation.
Trades Union Congress (TUC); 2021.
[Every workplace risk assessment should include aerosol transmission, and outline what steps are being taken to improve ventilation where necessary. Ventilation being one of the most effective ways to mitigate risk, but it’s the one employers are least likely to be paying attention to.]

Emotional Support

Online resources – Master the Mind Master Anything podcast – Kids’ Mental Health Special

Source: Mindset by Dave podcast

Today’s resource is the Master the Mind Master Anything podcast presented by Dave Cottrell (Mindset by Dave). In this episode Dave talks, from one parent to another, about some of the things he has learned as a parent and how these can be applied in your relationships with your own kids.

Listen to the podcast here.