Course information

‘Despite it being an experience common to all women, very little attention has been paid to the menopause as it affects women with learning disabilities.’ Michelle McCarthy (senior lecturer in Learning Disabilities, University of Kent) 2002 There are many reasons for this, and the general lack of attention paid to the reproductive health care needs of women with learning disabilities (LD) throughout their lives continues into their menopausal years – and yet the menopause and the associated health challenges faced can be extremely difficult for all women. If you are unaware of what is happening to you or if you cannot communicate your discomfort this is even more distressing.

Course content

This session will begin to look at this subject.

• Looking at how we communicate with women with LD, how do we impart information, and how can we improve our methods of communication?
• Looking at how we work more inclusively with their families and carers and enable them to understand what is happening. Can we support them to advocate and improve access to services?
• Can we adapt our own practice to make it more user friendly. What tools could help us do this?
• What do we know personally about how the menopause can specifically affect women with Learning Disabilities – can we anticipate the problems they may experience and enable better access to health care?

Raising awareness is the key to good practice. Thinking in new ways – sometimes even simplifying our ideas.  What are the (potentially) small changes that we can make to our care that can make a huge difference to their lives?

This session asks these questions and looks at how we can – together as health professionals – support women with Learning Disabilities through the menopausal years.