Supported housing services for people with learning disabilities in Scotland
A person with learning disability has difficulties understanding, learning and remembering new things. They may have difficulties with a number of social tasks such as self-care, awareness of health and safety, and communication. Learning disability, also known as learning difficulties, is an umbrella term covering a wide range of syndromes and conditions. These include Down's Syndrome, Asperger Syndrome, Tourette Syndrome, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Syndome. There is a great variation in the degree of learning disability that can be experienced, and the terms moderate, severe and profound are commonly used. It is now recognised that people with learning disabilities need support to speak for themselves and make their own housing, support and care choices.
All council areas in Scotland have at least one housing support service for people with learning disabilities. Some are specifically designed for learning disability needs, other are for people with learning disability and another client group (e.g. physically disabled people), and the remainder are generic services that provide housing support and care at home.
Floating support services, also known as outreach services, supported living, and home support, are provided to help people live independently in their own tenancy or within the home they share with family. These services provide staff who regularly visit the person in their home, and this can range from a few hours a fortmight or week to 24 hours a day - depending on the needs of the individual person. Community alarm services can provide the additional security of 24 hour emergency assistance, if the support service doesn't operate all hours.
There also is a range of supported accommodation for people with learning disability, which is generally either single person self contained flats or accommodation that is shared with others. The latter usually comprises a bedroom in a flat or house that is shared with others, and is generally for people with higher support needs. Support staff will either visit regularly, or will be based in the same building.
Learning disabled people have individual needs and degrees of disability, for example some may be able to move from the home they share with parents to shared housing or straight to their own tenancy. Others may be able to move from residential care to supported housing.
Aberdeen (12),
Aberdeenshire (9),
Angus (5),
Argyll & Bute (3),
Clackmannanshire (1),
Dumfries & Galloway (9),
Dundee (7),
East Ayrshire (3),
East Dunbartonshire (6),
East Lothian (3),
East Renfrewshire (2),
Edinburgh (15),
Eilean Siar / Western Isles (1),
Falkirk (1),
Fife (15),
Glasgow (27),
Highland (7),
Inverclyde (3),
Midlothian (3),
Moray (5),
North Ayrshire (6),
North Lanarkshire (5),
Orkney Islands (2),
Perth & Kinross (7),
Renfrewshire (9),
Scottish Borders (1),
Shetland Islands (2),
South Ayrshire (7),
South Lanarkshire (10),
Stirling (1),
West Dunbartonshire (7),
West Lothian (6),
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