Introduction
Care Certificate Standard 16 focuses on developing awareness and understanding of learning disability and autism within health and social care.
This course helps learners understand what learning disability and autism are, how they may affect individuals differently, and how care workers can provide safe, respectful, person-centred and inclusive support.
Learners will explore the importance of communication, reasonable adjustments, sensory needs, health inequalities, safeguarding, mental capacity, positive behaviour support and recognising when a person may be experiencing pain, illness, distress or difficulty communicating their needs.
The course considers people across the lifespan, including children and young people, working-age adults and older people, and explains how support needs may change at different stages of life.
It also introduces important expectations relating to the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the Mental Capacity Act, safeguarding responsibilities, accessible information, reasonable adjustments and current learning disability and autism training requirements.
The course is designed for anyone working in health and social care who may support autistic people or people with a learning disability.
Aims
- To provide learners with the knowledge required to understand Care Certificate Standard 16: Awareness of Learning Disability and Autism.
- To increase awareness of learning disability, autism and neurodiversity.
- To help learners understand that every person is different and should receive individualised, person-centred support.
- To develop an understanding of how learning disability and autism can affect communication, sensory processing, social interaction, daily living and access to healthcare.
- To help learners recognise and reduce barriers experienced by autistic people and people with a learning disability.
- To promote dignity, respect, independence, choice, inclusion and equality.
- To improve understanding of reasonable adjustments and accessible communication.
- To increase awareness of health inequalities and diagnostic overshadowing.
- To help learners recognise signs of pain, illness, distress and changes in behaviour.
- To develop awareness of safeguarding responsibilities and the importance of protecting people from abuse, neglect, discrimination and exploitation.
- To introduce the principles of the Mental Capacity Act and supported decision-making.
- To explain the importance of positive behaviour support, least-restrictive practice and understanding behaviour as communication.
- To help learners understand CQC expectations when supporting autistic people and people with a learning disability.
- To encourage safe, compassionate and evidence-based care across children’s, adult and older-person services.
Care Certificate knowledge should be supported by workplace induction, supervision, practical assessment and competency-based learning where appropriate.
Who should attend?
This course is suitable for people working or preparing to work in:
- Residential care homes
- Nursing homes
- Supported living services
- Domiciliary and home care
- Learning disability services
- Autism services
- Children’s services
- Family support services
- Day services
- Community care services
- Mental health services
- NHS and healthcare environments
- Hospitals and clinics
- Respite services
- Personal assistant roles
- Social care organisations
- Voluntary and charitable care organisations
It is particularly suitable for care workers, support workers, healthcare assistants, personal assistants, senior carers, new starters and anyone completing the Care Certificate
Objectives
By the end of this course, learners should be able to:
- Explain what is meant by a learning disability.
- Explain the difference between a learning disability and a learning difficulty.
- Describe what autism is and recognise that autism is a spectrum.
- Understand that autistic people and people with a learning disability have different strengths, preferences and support needs.
- Recognise the importance of avoiding stereotypes and assumptions.
- Describe the principles of person-centred and strengths-based care.
- Understand how communication needs may differ between individuals.
- Identify different communication methods, including speech, gestures, pictures, Easy Read information and augmentative and alternative communication.
- Understand the principles of the Accessible Information Standard.
- Identify when reasonable adjustments may be required.
- Understand sensory differences and how environments can affect autistic people.
- Recognise that behaviour may be a form of communication.
- Understand approaches to preventing and reducing distress.
- Describe the principles of Positive Behaviour Support.
- Understand why restrictive practices should only be considered when necessary, proportionate and lawful.
- Recognise the importance of promoting independence, choice and control.
- Understand the five principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
- Recognise the importance of supporting people to make their own decisions wherever possible.
- Understand consent, best interests and supported decision-making.
- Recognise common safeguarding risks affecting autistic people and people with a learning disability.
- Identify possible indicators of abuse, neglect, exploitation and discriminatory practice.
- Understand how safeguarding responsibilities apply to both children and adults.
- Recognise health inequalities experienced by people with a learning disability and autistic people.
- Explain diagnostic overshadowing and why it can place people at risk.
- Recognise that changes in behaviour may indicate pain, illness, anxiety, sensory distress or unmet needs.
- Understand the importance of annual health checks for eligible people with a learning disability.
- Develop awareness of STOMP and STAMP principles relating to the appropriate use of medication.
- Understand how mental health, trauma, bereavement and life changes may affect individuals.
- Recognise additional considerations when supporting children and young people.
- Recognise the importance of transition planning as young people move into adult services.
- Understand considerations when supporting working-age adults with independence, relationships, employment and community participation.
- Recognise how ageing, dementia, physical health changes and loss may affect older autistic people and older people with a learning disability.
- Understand the needs of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.
- Recognise the importance of working with families, carers, advocates and multidisciplinary professionals.
- Maintain accurate, respectful and confidential records.
- Understand how CQC regulations and quality expectations relate to learning disability and autism support.
- Apply learning to realistic health and social care situations.
The Care Certificate sets out fundamental knowledge, skills and behaviours expected of health and social care workers. Individual employers are responsible for ensuring that learners are appropriately supervised and assessed as competent in their workplace role.
Assessment
Care Certificate Standard 16 addresses awareness of learning disability and autism.
Once the learning material has been completed, learners will complete an online assessment to test their understanding of the course content.
The assessment consists of multiple-choice questions and requires a minimum pass mark of 80%.
Answers are automatically marked, allowing learners to see their result immediately.
If a learner does not achieve the required pass mark on the first attempt, they can review the learning material before attempting the assessment again.
Learners may attempt the examination up to twenty (20) times. Once all available attempts have been used, the course may need to be purchased again.
Learners should also remember that online knowledge assessment does not replace any workplace observation, supervision or competency assessment required by their employer.
Course Duration
• The online care course needs a minimum of one hour to complete. This can be a guide to the educational hours needed, and it depends on how quickly an individual can understand the course. The training is online. It may be displayed over multiple sessions or done in one session.
• Learners will have access to the present course for up to nine months from the date of joining. There's no pressure to finish the course in a short time.
Certificate
Our nationally acclaimed online social care courses are approved by the Continuing Professional Development (CPD). You will receive a recognised certificate in PDF format as soon as your evaluation is finished, and it will be instantly available. Hard copies of the certificate are offered at a higher cost. For your future reference, all proof of completion and certification will be kept on file in our system.
