Enhancing Health & Social Care. Locally.
Information card
An introduction to learning disability What is a learning disability?
Learning disabilities can be mild, moderate
Learning disability is one of the most
or severe. Some people with a mild learning
common forms of disability in the UK. People
disability do not need a lot of support in
with a learning disability find it harder than
their lives. Those with a severe or profound,
others to learn, understand or communicate.
learning disability and a physical disability
Having a learning disability can make it problematic for a person to learn as quickly as someone who isn’t affected. Learning
may need a lot of support 24 hours a day. Many people with a learning disability live independently.
disability is not indicative of intelligence level.
National statistics
Rather, people with a learning disability have
Mencap states that 1.5 million people in the
trouble performing specific types of skills or
UK have a learning disability, that’s about
completing tasks if left to figure things out by
three in 100 people. This figure is increasing.
themselves or if taught in conventional ways.
People with a learning disability are living
A learning disability cannot be cured or fixed; it is a lifelong issue. With the right support and intervention, however, people with learning disabilities can succeed in school and go on to successful, often distinguished careers later in life.
longer, and around 200 babies are born with a learning disability every week.
Enhancing Health & Social Care. Locally.
Information card
An introduction to arts therapies The arts therapies include: 1. Visual Art therapy 2. Music therapy
that through this process the client will understand and come to terms with the issues they are struggling with emotionally.
3. Drama therapy
Arts therapies provide a largely non-verbal
4. Dance and movement therapy
medium for expressing and coming to
Aims of arts therapies The aims will vary according to the individual or group involved but they are largely around emotional or psychological healing and growth. These mirror the goals of psychotherapy. Arts therapists work with a wide variety of people, including those with learning disabilities, those with mental health issues, the elderly, people in schools, prisons and youth centres. Benefits of arts therapies Each form of arts therapy has developed as a separate discipline. The assumption behind them all is that the art created in the therapy,
terms with difficult feelings. This is useful for those who have limited or no verbal communication. It is often difficult to express these feelings, particularly for someone who does not communicate verbally. The relationship with the therapist and/or the group can also be a way of developing appropriate social skills, however, if this was an aim of the therapy it should be worked on directly. Finding an arts therapist There may be arts therapists working for your local learning disability services. If not you can contact the relevant professional body for details.
be that dance, music, painting or drama is
British Association for Arts Therapists
a reflection of how the person involved is
Email: info@baat.org
thinking and feeling.
Website: www.baat.org
The therapist and client then explore
Tel: 0207 686 4216
this together verbally or by developing
British Association of Dramatherapy
further what has been created. It is hoped
Email: enquiries@badth.org.uk
Enhancing Health & Social Care. Locally.
Information card
Rights of people with learning disabilities In 1970 the Education Act made education
In 2005, the Disability Discrimination Act was
a basic right for every child with a learning
changed to give public bodies, such as health
disability.
and education, new duties. These new duties
In 1990 the Community Care Act supported new housing choices and gave people with a learning disability the right to live in the community. In 1995 the Disability Discrimination Act was the first step towards fully recognising the civil rights of people with a learning disability. It made equal opportunities a right for people with a disability. In 2001 the Government’s White Paper, ‘Valuing People’ in England, ‘Fulfilling the Promises’ in Wales and ‘Regional Strategy and Priorities for Action’ in Northern Ireland, put individual choice at the centre of services for people with a learning disability. It gave people with a learning disability the right to be valued.
include: making all rail vehicles accessible to people with a disability, including people who use a wheelchair. Also in 2005, the Mental Capacity Act was created to provide a legal structure to empower and protect vulnerable people who are not able to make their own decisions.
Enhancing Health & Social Care. Locally.
Information card
Older people with learning disabilities Better health care and social care has meant
have always used in to old age and this allows
that people with a learning disability are
them to remain in familiar surroundings.
living longer than before. Many people with
However others are encouraged to move to
a learning disability now have the same life
generic services for older people but often at
expectancy as people without a learning
an earlier age.
disability. Although there are some learning disabilities, such as profound and multiple learning disabilities and Down’s syndrome, which still have a lower life expectancy.
Dementia in older people with a learning disability Dementia is the general term used to describe a group of diseases that affect the brain.
Services available for older people with a
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common
learning disability
of these. For older people with a learning
Older people with a learning disability need
disability other than Down’s syndrome, the
the same support and services as any other
risk of dementia is about four times higher
older person, as well as the specialist support
than for a person without a learning disability.
for their learning disability. However this does not always happen; professionals working in services for older people sometimes feel they do not have the specialist knowledge of learning disability, while the learning disability professionals sometimes feel they do not have specialist knowledge of caring for older people. It is important that these two professions communicate with each other to give older people with a learning disability the best possible services. Some people with a learning disability continue to use the specialist services for people with a learning disability that they