Pain and Distress

Everyone experiences pain, but how they communicate their pain is different.

People with a learning disability may be unable to:

• recognise their pain
  
• describe their pain
  
• tell others about their pain
  
• say where the pain is
  

This is very different to saying they do not experience pain or have a high pain threshold.

Contents of this mini book:

• What is pain?
  
• What is distress?
  
• Busting the myths
  
• Looking at pain in more detail
  
• Case study example – meet Michael
  
• The different types of pain:
  
• Pain in people with dementia and learning disability:
  
• How do people communicate pain and distress when they are unable to tell you directly?
  
• Looking at pain in more detail
  
• Using the MacIntyre person-centred thinking tools
  
• MacIntyre communication charts
  
• The MacIntyre pain and distress assessment tool
  
• Using ‘important to’ and ‘important for’
  
• Learning logs
  
• Learning logs example
  
• The pain cycle
  
• What can you do to help someone manage their pain or distress?
  
• Supporting the person