Jackie O’Sullivan, Executive Director of Communications,
Advocacy
Advocacy is when you get support to have your say.
and
Activism
Activism is taking action to make change. Going to a
campaign
A campaign is when people work together to try to change something.
event with others, writing letters and speaking up are all ways to take action.
at 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:
“Social care is not fixed as the Prime Minister
The Prime Minister is the leader of 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. . once promised, and that is painfully obvious in the new figures from the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS). We know many people with a learning disability, their families and those working in social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it. are paying the price of a system ravaged by the pandemic - services are still closed, staff are spread too thin, and ultimately people's lifelines to the outside world are being cut off.
“New research by Mencap has also revealed widespread loneliness amongst people with a learning disability and almost a third (32%) are struggling with their mental health, with many people still stuck at home in the aftermath of the pandemic because of reduced social care support. Mencap is urging decision-makers to act now to provide community
A community is the people and places in an area. support to prevent further isolation and irreparable damage to the mental health and wellbeing of people with a learning disability. We also need to see longer-term funding targeted at supporting decent pay rises for social care workers, many of whom are paid far too little and will be hit hardest by the ever-increasing cost of living.”
The report from ADASS can be found here: https://www.adass.org.uk/waiting-for-care-adass-report-may-2022
-ENDS-
For further information or to arrange an
interview
An interview is a meeting where you talk to someone or a group of people about something. When you have an interview for a job, you have to answer questions and say why you would be good at the job. The person who gives the best answers is offered the job.
with a Mencap
spokesperson
A spokesperson is someone who speaks up about something. They usually speak up on behalf of a group or
organisation
An organisation are a group of people who work together.
.
or
case study
A case study is a piece of writing that tells people more information about someone's experience.
, please contact Mencap’s media team on: media@mencap.org.uk or 020 7696 5414 (including out of hours).
Notes to editors:
About the data
Mencap ran a
survey
A survey is when someone asks you to answer some questions.
with 580 family members and carers of people with a learning disability in the UK. The survey ran for 3 weeks from 07/02/2022 to 28/02/2022 and was hosted on Alchemer.
About Mencap
There are approximately 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 means that people might need support 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.