Learning Disability Coalition

People with learning disabilities are being treated like second class citizens

17 May 2007

People with learning disabilities are being treated like second class citizens, a major survey by Community Care reveals.

They are being denied the chance to live independently, to have a job and to develop relationships and have children. They often have little or no social life, regularly encounter bullying on the streets and some have never been on a holiday.

It's because there is not enough money in the system to provide adequate support in the community. Access to council services is being steadily tightened by councils in a bid to save money, and increasingly only those people with learning disabilities who have high needs, and who are deemed "critical", are eligible for support.

Nearly 1200 people with learning disabilities responded to the survey by Community Care magazine which launches a campaign this week to highlight the plight of the UK's 1.5m people with learning disabilities.

A learning disability means that since childhood the person concerned has had a reduced ability to understand new or complex information. The impairment may be part of a condition such as Downs' Syndrome or autism and may relate to social interaction or intelligence.

The campaign, called A Life Like Any Other, demands that people with learning disabilities be given the opportunities to do things that everyone else takes for granted, like have a job and their own home.

The survey shows:

• 65% want to live independently

• 66% want a paid job

• 58% would like to be in a relationship

• 94% are childless

• 32% would like to have children

• 16% - equivalent to 240,000 people - have been bullied on the street in the last year

Meanwhile, a joint survey by Community Care and Personnel Today shows that while many organisations have skills shortages in suitable roles they are struggling to see the potential of people with learning disabilities - who can often outperform their colleagues given the appropriate support.

Community Care editor Mike Broad said employers needed more advice on how to recruit and support people with learning disabilities - a key way of giving them greater independence.

He said: "The major abuses of people with learning disabilities in care are being addressed, as evidenced by the investigations into the scandals in Sutton and Merton and Cornwall.

"But, what we're seeing as people move into the community is that they're not given enough support to lead independent lives, and our research reveals that many are isolated, stuck on benefits and feel incredibly frustrated about their poor quality of life. They have a lot to contribute but are not being enabled to do so."