IMS Educational Programme 1978 All enquiries relating to the activities listed should be

addressed to: The Conference Organiser, Institute of MentaI Subnormality, Wolverhampton Road, Kidderminster, Worcs. DYlO 3PP.

Central IMS COURSES AND WORKSHOPS GENERAL Multidisciplinary course in mental handicap

Lea Castle Hospital, Wolverley, near Kidderminster, Worcestershire. Fortnightly on Wednesday afternoons from 4th October,

1978 - 4th July, 1979. 2.15-4.15 p.m. Aims : To enable people of different disciplines who have a

common interest in and a responsibility towards the mentally handicapped to :

(i) share their knowledge and experience (ii) learn together about the main aspects of mental handicap (iii) understand the contribution of different disciplines

towards issues of mental handicap (iv) study under the guidance of experts in various fields

related to mental handicap and allow dialogue with these experts with a view to convertxng theory into practice.

Fees: IMS members E30.00. Non-members L35.00. The course is available to G.P.’s under Section 63 provisions.

Three day recall workshop for community nurses working in the field of mental handicap (follow up to six week course held April-May, 1978)

Ridgehill Mental Handicap Unit, Stourbridge, West Midlands. Monday, 6th - Wednesday, 8th November, 1978. Open to: Participants of April/May, 1978 course. By

invitation only.

Curriculum planning workshop Fircroft College, Selly Oak, Birmingham. Tuesday, 14th - Thursday, 16th November, 1978. Open to: By invitation only. Fees: No charge.

BEHAVI OU R MO DI FI CAT1 0 N Five day course for practising psychologists - tlte behavioural approach in mental handicap

Lea Hospital, Stourbridge Road, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. Monday, 20th - Friday, 24th November, 1978. Behaviour Modification and related procedures are widely

used in the management of mentally handicapped people. This five-day course is intended to help psychologists by pro- viding information on the practice and theory of a behavioural approach. A range of topics will be covered including obser- vational and teaching methods, recent research in modern learning theory, behaviourism as a philosophy of science, and the role of the psychologist in services for the handicapped. Teaching will be based upon small groups and will contain both formal and practical components.

Open to: Psychologists working with the mentally handi- capped.

Fees: 250.00 (Overnight accommodation extra).

Courses for parents, teachers and others working with the mentally handicapped

Larkhill House, Larkhill, Kidderminster, Worcs. A number of afternoon/evening courses in behavioural

teaching for parents of the handicapped and teachers of the handicapped child and adult will be held regularly throughout the year.

Parents, teachers, ATC staff; health visitors and other interested personnel. Details on request.

Open to:

I NTRO DU CTO RY TWO-DAY WORKSHOPS

A behavioural approach to the management of the mentally handicapped - introduction

Lea Hospital, Stourbridge Road, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. Aims: Many different professionals, including nurses,

teachers and social workers, are now regularly involved in helping the handicapped to learn through the use of behaviour modification.

These two-day workshops are designed to introduce some of the theory and practice of this approach. A number of topics will be covered, including behavioural observation and teaching methods with an emphasis on encouraging the active partici- pation of course members.

(Applications will be considered on an individual basis and places allocated on the most suitable workshop taking account of each individual’s professional interest).

Note: tions are now being accepted for 1979.

Fees: L25.00 (overnight accommodation extra). The 1978 series of workshops is fully booked. Applica=

VlSlTlN G WORKSHOPS: BEHAVI 0 U R M 0 D I F I CAT1 ON Introduction to behavioural principles and practice

A team of up to four IMS tutorial staff will visit establish- ments on request to conduct introductory workshops in behavioural principles and practice in mental handicap. The workshops will generally be for a period of two days. Lectures, seminars, videotapes and practicals will form the basis of each workshop. Content will be varied to suit the needs of individual establishments but there will be an emphasis on developing self-help skills, communication and rehabilitation programmes. A preference will be exercised to accept invitations from establishments where members of staff have already had some experience in behavioural principles. This is most likely to have been acquired by attending previous IMS introductory workshops.

Charges: L120.00. The host establishment will be expected o meet the cost of travelling and accommodation for members

of the team. As it is likely that only six workshops will be undertaken in 1978, early application is recommended.

E D U CAT1 0 N AL R H YT H M I CS An introduction to educational rhythmics with the mentally handicapped

IMS tutorial staff will visit establishments in the U.K. on request to conduct one-day workshops as an introduction to the use of educational rhythmics with the mentally handi- capped.

Each workshop will include informal lectures and practical instruction which will permit full participation of the people attending.

Charges: L50.00 per day. The host establishment will also be expected to meet costs of travelling and accommodation, if necessary. Early application advised.

Midlands Division CONFERENCE The mentally handicapped and their communication problems.

Venue: Salop. Late October, 1978.

Northern Division CONFERENCE Note: The conference, Non-verbal communication in the‘ mentally handicapped, planned to take place at Earls House Hospital, Durham in October has been cancelled.

13

Southern Division CONFERENCE Epilepsy: causes, management and treatment

Oxford RHA Headquarters, Headington, Oxford. Monday, 4th December, 1978. Fees: IMS members €3.50. Nonmembers f5.00.

South-Western Division CONFERENCES

capped Help and self-help for parents of the mentally handi-

Sandhill Park Hospital, Bishops Lydeard, Taunton, Somerset. Friday, 22nd September, 1978. Fees: IMS members and parents €3.50. Nonmembers E5.0.

St. Lawrence’s Hospital, Bodrnin, Cornwall. Friday, 1st December, 1978. Fees: IMS members €3.50. Nonmembers €5.00.

Implications of the Jay Committee Report

Welsh Division CONFERENCES Evaluation of services and training courses

Maelor General Hospital, Wrexham, Clwyd. Wednesday, 20th September, 1978. Fees: IMS members €3.50. Non-members €5.00.

Programmes effecting change in institutions - problems and possibilities

Ely Hospital, Cowbridge Road West, Cardiff. Friday, 8th December, 1978. Fees: IMS members f3.50. Nonmembers €5.00.

IMS EDUCATIONAL RHYTHMICS SECTION E.R.S. members meetings

Lea Castle Hospital, Wolverley, Near Kidderminster, Wor- cestershire.

In order to provide members with an opportunity to discuss and exchange ideas as well as offering a setting for practical demonstration, one-day meetings will be held as appropriate. Charges, inclusive of lunch and refreshments, will be around €2.00 per day. Further details available on request.

News from the Midlands

CONFERENCE REPORT : Parent Involvement Services Mrs. J. M. Gardner, Divisional Tutor

The first day conference organised by the Midlands Division of IMS was held on June 30th, 1978 at St. Margaret’s Hospital, Birmingham. It attracted a large audience of parents and professionals. The Chairman was Dr. Margaret Griffiths, Locum Consultant Paedia- trician, Ridgehill Mental Handicap Unit and Tutor to the Division.

Mr. Peter Cummings, Senior Educational Psycholo- gist, Birmingham, set the scene for the day by outlining some of the varied forms of parent workshops which are being developed both in this Country and in the United States. He then went on to talk about the parent workshops which he has organised in Birmingham as adult education evening classes. He emphasised the importance of parent involvement in assessment of their child’s development as well as in the planning and implementation of teaching programmes.

Mr. Laurence Tennant and Mr. John Hattersley, Senior Clinical Psychologists, Lea Hospital, Broms- grove and Lecturers to IMS, talked about T h e Manor Park Project. In this parent involvement project, psychologists, teachers and members of other support agencies meet together with small groups of parents in the “parents’ room” of Manor Park School. During these monthly meetings, parents and professionals are able to discuss topics of general interest and to use their knowledge and experience in, for example, formulating teaching programmes or helping families cope with problem behaviour. The project, which has financial assistance from IMS, has been reported in previous issues of Apex.

14

In the afternoon Miss Susan Revill, Research Associate at the Applied Research Unit, Ely Hospital, Cardiff, discussed the results of. a research project which aimed to investigate the feasibility of adaptation of an American hon. .-Leaching project - T h e Porlage Project - to the U.K. 5 e outlined some of the data collected during the research which indicated that this home-teaching method could be extremely Val,. ible if employed in this Country in assisting parents to teach their young handicapped children new skills.

Finally, Mrs. McCormack, author of a forthcoming book entitled Parents views of support services, herself the mother of a handicapped child, gave us all an invaluable insight into the real needs of families of handicapped children. She spoke of the gulf between professionals and parents and of the isolation which many parents feel on first learning that their child is handicapped. Her pleas for more information and more parental help and involvement gave us all much food for thought.

Discussion periods at the end of both the morning and afternoon sessions provided an opportunity for many interesting questions to be raised by members of the audience, both parents of handicapped children and representatives of many disciplines involved with handicapped children and their parents.

In general, the day provided us all with a great deal of information about current methods of parental involvement and some ideas of the ways in which everyone can help to narrow the gap which sometimes seems to exist between professionals and the families whom they are trying to support.