Amy Clarke
People with a
learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
have a right to a decent life but we still face barriers. We can take action to help overcome these barriers. Another word for this is campaigning.
You can campaign by sending letters or visiting your MP but campaigning online is the newest way to get attention for a cause from the public and from people making important decisions.
It’s so important for people with a learning disability to have a say and fight for his or her
rights
Rights are the things everyone should be allowed to do like have a say, or go to school.
.
It’s good to get help from
organisations
Organisations are groups like companies and businesses.
like Mencap with campaigning so that reaching the public will be more efficient, especially online. A lot of people share things like blogs, tweets and videos to highlight what needs to be done.
People with all disabilities should campaign online, as it is a modern way of reaching an audience and getting yourself heard.
From signing online actions, to making a plea on social media or even making videos to raise awareness about the cause, there are lots of actions to take online.
Mencap campaign on causes like learning disability healthcare and benefit
cuts
Cuts are when there is less money to pay for things like clubs and support.
.
I have tweeted about most campaigns that Mencap run and I do e action forms, to send a message to my MP. This means he can deal with a serious matter that I care about and he may reply or his PA might.
Social media is available twenty four hours a day so causes can get heard all the time. I have a learning disability and use social media quite well, so I share important causes online.
I work in the digital team at Mencap but I also like to know what causes will be put forward to be campaigned about for people with a learning disability.
At the moment there are a lot of plans to change benefits being discussed in
Parliament
Parliament is a group of people who make laws and check what
the government
The Government are the people who run the country. The Government decide how much
tax
Tax is the money that pays for things like schools, hospitals and the police. There are different types of taxes like
income tax
Income tax is the money that is taken out of the money you earn every month. It helps to pay for things we all need like hospitals and schools.
,
VAT
VAT is also called Value Added Tax. VAT is the extra money you pay when you buy things. The money goes to the government to pay for things like schools and hospitals.
and
council tax
Council
A council is also called a
local authority
A local authority is also called a council. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live like schools,
social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it.
(support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live. These include: schools, social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
Tax is the money that people pay to the
council
A council is also called a
local authority
A local authority is also called a council. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live like schools,
social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it.
(support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live. These include: schools, social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
. It helps to pay for things like social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
.
people should pay and how things like the National Health
Service
A service gives people what they need, like healthcare services that help people when they are ill, and support services that give people support.
(
NHS
The NHS is the National Health Service. The NHS gives free healthcare to everyone in the UK and includes things like your GP (doctors) surgery and hospitals.
) should work.
is doing.
, so Mencap’s campaigns team are fighting against cuts.
The Hear my voice campaign was launched last year and people with a learning disability sent their stories to their MPs, asking them to listen. It had a huge following with the public and MPs, especially over
election
An election is when people choose who should be in charge of something. This could be in charge of a group, an area, or the country. People choose by voting. The person with the most votes wins.
time last year. It's on the Mencap
website
A website is a page you can go to on the internet like Google or YouTube.
, which is very
accessible
Accessible means something is easy for people to use or join in with. For example: Accessible writing means the writing is easy to read and understand.
with videos to watch and blogs to read.
As a person with a learning disability I feel Mencap campaigns are very accessible, we put the reading matter into
easy read
Easy Read is a way of making written information easier to understand. Pictures are usually added next to the writing.
and have a lot of videos and pictures to look at. I assist with this by inspecting any new material to check for accessibility.
Mencap believes in empowerment and that people with a learning disability must have their voices heard on what it is important!