This week is Learning Disability Week – a week long campaign organised by Mencap to change attitudes towards learning disability in society.
Every day, more than 1.4 million people with a learning disability and their families face issues like poor healthcare, hate crime and social isolation. However, these issues are rarely debated and most politicians don’t understand how these things impact on people’s lives.
Following the success of the Hear My Voice campaign, which gained support from more than 800 candidates in the run up to the General Election, Mencap is asking people with a learning disability and their families and carers to contact their local MPs to make sure they continue to listen to their views.
This will focus around a national day of action on Friday 19th June, where people with a learning disability and their families and carers are being encouraged to contact their local MP – particularly the 151 newly elected MPs who pledged support to the campaign – about making sure learning disability issues move higher up the political agenda.
Inequalities that people with a learning disability face include:
- 1,200 people with a learning disability dying avoidably every year in our NHS
- Pupils with Special Educational Needs being eight times more likely to be permanently excluded than their peers who do not have these needs
- Just 7% of people with a learning disability being in paid employment
- 56% of disabled people saying they have experienced hostility, aggression or violence from a stranger because of their condition
If you want to be part of Learning Disability Week and help tackle the myths and misconceptions about learning disability that fuel prejudice and inequality, there are many resources available on the website. These include resource guides and packs, posters, blogs, real life stories, and much more!
To find out more Learning Disability Week, please visit the Mencap website.
