Did you know that 8 out of 10 children with learning disabilities are bullied?
We need to do more to provide the right support from an early age and Mencap are one of the leading voices for learning disabilities. Every person with a learning disability – no matter how severe their disability – can make choices about how they want to live. They just need the right support. Our children are clearly not all getting that support from an early age – I read the other day that a large percentage of the London rioters had learning disabilities and had left school early with no additional support.
Most people do not understand what a learning disability is or what it is caused by. Therefore, people with a learning disability – including people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) – are among the most excluded and disadvantaged people in today’s society. All people with a learning disability are individuals with their own personalities, likes and dislikes, goals and ambitions. It just isn’t possible to say that all people with a learning disability will develop, act or learn in the same way. Unfortunately, many people with a learning disability don’t get the chance to have their choices fulfilled because they don’t always get the support they need from government and because other people and institutions don’t try to understand their wants, their needs or their abilities. Too often, people with a learning disability are ignored.
A learning disability is caused by the way the brain develops. There are many different types and most develop before a baby is born, during birth or because of a serious illness in early childhood. A learning disability is lifelong and usually has a significant impact on a person’s life. Learning disability is not mental illness or dyslexia. People with a learning disability find it harder than others to learn, understand and communicate. People with profound and multiple learning disabilities need full-time help with every aspect of their lives – including eating, drinking, washing, dressing and toileting. There are 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK. Like all of us, they are individuals who want different things in life and need different levels of support.
Mencap website:-
