Involving people with PMLD

Friday 23 September 2011

A new resource is the result of a three-year project by Mencap and Bild

A major new resource for all those working with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) was launched today at City Hall, London.

Since 2009, Mencap and the British Institute of Learning Disabilities (Bild) have been working on Involve Me, a three-year project on increasing the involvement of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) in decision making.

“Often, when we have convinced people to involve people with PMLD in decision making, they’ve asked how to do this meaningfully. So we hope Involve Me offers strategies for involving people as fully as possible,” explains Beverley Dawkins, Mencap’s national officer for PMLD and chair of the Involve Me steering group.

Funded by the Renton Foundation, Involve Me used four practice sites to explore creative ways to communicate with people with PMLD.

These included creative communication – using methods, such as art, music, dance and film to enhance communication ­– and peer advocacy, through which someone with a learning disability acts as an advocate for the person with PMLD.

Practical resource

Now, the findings of the project have been used to shape a major new resource. The resource consists of a short booklet, which summarises the project, and a practical guide with accompanying films.

In addition, an independent evaluation of Involve Me, carried out by the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities, includes 16 recommendations for all those involved with PMLD services, from support workers to the government.

During today’s launch event, Caroline Stanley, trustee of the Renton Foundation, said: “We are delighted to be able to fund this major initiative. It is truly our hope that it will draw attention to what is still an overlooked aspect of disability.

“To some, the prospect of working with people with PMLD can be daunting. But this project shows how much can be achieved in really simple ways – it doesn’t have to be frightening.”

Find out more about Involve Me