The charity Mencap devote a week each year to raising awareness of the challenges faced by people living with a Learning Disability across the UK. This year’s awareness week will take place from 14th – 20th June, and the theme is art and creativity. In addition to providing a self-esteem boost, art can help people to communicate more effectively and express thoughts and feelings in a way that makes sense to them. Getting involved in creativity can also help to improve an individuals mental health*. See the Mencap website here for loads of fun activities and resources to get involved: www.mencap.org.uk/get-involved/learning-disability-week-2021.
About Mencap
Mencap are an organisation that aims to help people with a Learning Disability in any area of their life where they need support. This includes things like helping someone join local leisure activities or live independently. They can even assist with reporting crimes to the police. Mencap also run a number of projects and events so people with Learning Disabilities can recognise their achievements.*
What is a learning disability?
A learning disability affects the way a person understands information and how they communicate. This means they can have difficulty:
- Understanding new or complex information
- Learning new skills
- Coping independently
Around 1.5 million people in the UK have a learning disability and it is thought that up to 350,000 people have a severe learning disability.**
How does a learning disability affect people?
Having a learning disability means that people find it harder to learn certain life skills. The problems experienced vary from person to person, but may include aspects such as learning new things, communication, managing money, reading, writing, or personal care. Some people are born with a disability, whereas others may develop one as a result of illness in childhood. Someone with mild disabilities may be able to live independently with minimal support, whereas someone with severe and profound disabilities may require 24-hour care, and help with performing most daily living skills.**
Mencap advise that people with a learning disability are up to twice as likely to experience mental health problems, due to many factors like discrimination and social isolation.*
How The Eaves can help
At The Eaves, we have Counsellors, Psychotherapists and Psychologists that can offer help for people with learning disabilities. Our professionals see individuals of all ages, families, couples and young people 12 hours a day, Monday to Saturday between 9am and 9pm. Please call 01483 917000. You can also send us an enquiry via our website. Click here to find out more.
References
https://www.mencap.org.uk/get-involved/learning-disability-week-2021*
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/learning-disabilities/ **