Assessing the need for challenging behaviour services in an English health district

The aim of the present study was to assess the health care needs for people with learning difficulties who display challenging behaviour in a newly established health district. Ninety-eight clients were studied, using Disability Assessment Schedule (DAS), Aberrant Behaviour Checklist (ABC) and The Psychopathology Inventory for Mentally Retarded Adults (PIMRA). The results showed that a large proportion of them were mobile, continent and able to feed themselves. Almost half had no problems in communication but less than half were sociable. On the whole, they did not have adequate skills. A large proportion of them did not present severe challenging behaviour and did not suffer from psychiatric illnesses, apart from inappropriate adjustment disorder. Correlation coefficients showed that there were relationships between challenging behaviours and some of clients' disabilities and inappropriate adjustment disorder.