Deafness and Challenging Behaviour The 360¿ Perspective

Challenging behaviours, such as aggression and violence, are more common in deaf people than hearing people. Filling a crucial gap in the international market, this book will appeal equally to those who work occasionally or entirely with deaf or hearing impaired client groups of all ages. Multi-disciplinary professionals with specialist knowledge of working with deaf people explore aspects of mild to severe challenging behaviour with reference to its cause, assessment, prevention and management. This book will be of relevance to professionals and carers involved in the delivery of actual and potential aggression management in the fields of: mental health; education; learning disability; speech and language therapy; prison and forensic services; audiology and nursing. International contributors, providing a wealth of easily accessible knowledge, consider this extremely heterogeneous group from neurological, behavioural, socio-political, psychodynamic and systemic perspectives. Deafness and Challenging Behaviour aims to stimulate debate in contentious areas such as restraint practices and human rights, whilst bridging gaps in the application of culturally cogent service provision for the deaf community. Special emphasis is placed on the needs of deaf sign language users.

Sally Austen is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and author who has specialised in the field of mental health and deafness for 15 years. She has worked with deaf people with mental health problems, deafened adults in health psychology and audiology problems, deafened adults in health psychology and audiology for and with cochlear implant programs. She has special interest in the prevention of mental health problems in deaf people, non-organic deafness and interpreter training.

Dave Jeffery is a Violence and Personal Safety Specialist Advisor employed by Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust Risk Management Department.