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Home / Our research / Solutions focused research / Social Inclusion / Talking about learning disability (Talk-LD): a school based intervention to prevent bullying and promote understanding about people with learning disabilities (Talk-LD)

Talking about learning disability (Talk-LD): a school based intervention to prevent bullying and promote understanding about people with learning disabilities (Talk-LD)


Background
Bullying and hate crime have a terrible effect on the lives of people with learning disabilities, and there is need to look at ways to tackle this. One way to do this is through a school based intervention to help young people have a better understanding about people with learning disabilities.

What we did
Twelve schools were recruited and randomised to deliver either Talk-LD (five lessons) or Talk-LD+ (five lessons plus contact).

Pre lesson attitudinal data was collected from the 12 schools. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, post lesson data was only collected from six schools. Qualitative data was also obtained from three individual teacher interviews and five group pupil interviews.

What we found
This study shows that it is possible to deliver Talk-LD to students in secondary schools as part of the Personal and Social Education (PSE) curriculum in Scottish schools. The Scottish Government has committed to promoting the delivery of Talk-LD in Scottish schools, as part of its Transformation Plan for Intellectual Disability and Autism (Scottish Government, 2021). Whilst no school managed to deliver a contact activity, the enthusiastic engagement with the process, and the plans made in three schools prior to lockdown, suggest that it is feasible for schools to make plans for positive contact between students and people with learning disabilities.

While the study suggests that it would be feasible to conduct a large-scale RCT, more sensitive approaches are required to examine attitude change towards people with a learning disability.

Find out more about the lessons at: www.talkingabout.org.uk

Link to publication: Maguire, R., Wilson, A. & Jahoda, A. (2018). Talking about Learning disability: promoting positive perceptions of people with intellectual disabilities in Scottish schools, International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, DOI: 10.1080/20473869.2018.1446497.

For further information about this research, please contact Roseann Maguire

Page updated February 2023