Edel Harris, Chief Executive of the
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.
charity Mencap, said:
“Once again we see evidence of disabled people being forgotten during the pandemic – when will the government
The Government are the people who run the country. The Government decide how much tax people should pay and how things like the National Health Service (NHS) should work. take their important and urgent needs seriously?
“Before COVID people with a learning disability already faced healthcare inequalities with 1,200 people dying avoidably each year. Extreme levels of social isolation also meant they were seven times more likely to feel lonely than the general population, and that was before the lockdowns of 2020. The social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it. system was also already on its knees and then in July a Mencap survey
A survey is when someone asks you to answer some questions. of family carers found that seven in ten (69%) people with a learning disability had their support cut during lockdown – just when they needed it the most. COVID has made a desperate situation even worse.
“Despite 25 years passing since the Disability Discrimination
Discrimination is when someone is treated differently (usually in a bad way) because of things like their disability or their religion
Religion is to do with the things you believe about the world. For example you may believe there is a god or something else. Examples of religions are Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. . Act, disabled people’s needs still aren’t prioritised. We must see change - starting with all COVID guidance
Guidance means being given clear instructions to be able to do something well. including specific information to meet the needs of people with a disability .”
More details about the BBC's YouGov survey can be found here.
– Ends –
For further information or to arrange interviews, contact Mencap’s media team on:
- media@mencap.org.uk
- 020 7696 5414 (including out of hours).
About Mencap
There are 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK. Mencap works to support people with a learning disability, their families and carers by fighting to change laws, improve services and access to
education
Education is when you learn things. When you fill in a form to get a job, education means you write where you went to school, college or university.
,
employment
Employment means having a job.
and
leisure
Leisure is when you have time to do things you enjoy like playing sports or going to the pub.
facilities. Mencap supports thousands of people with a learning disability to live their lives the way they want. www.mencap.org.uk.
For advice and information about learning disability and Mencap services in your area, contact Mencap’s Freephone Learning Disability Helpline on 0808 808 1111 (10am-3pm, Monday-Friday) or email helpline@mencap.org.uk.
What is a learning disability?
- A learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability which can cause problems with everyday tasks – for example shopping and cooking, or travelling to new places – which affects someone for their whole life;
- Learning disability is NOT a mental illness or a learning difficulty, such as
dyslexia
Dyslexia is a learning difficulty. People who have dyslexia can find it hard to read, write and spell.
. Very often the term ‘learning difficulty’ is wrongly used interchangeably with ‘learning disability’; - People with a learning disability can take longer to learn new things and may need support to develop new skills, understand difficult information and engage with other people. The level of support someone needs is different with every individual. For example, someone with a severe learning disability might need much more support with daily tasks than someone with a mild learning disability.