Key Messages about Learning Disabilities

Question: What’s the biggest barrier to people with a learning disability getting a fair deal in society?

Answer: Ignorance…most people don’t even know what a learning disability is.

Brent Mencap aims to raise awareness of what it means to have a learning disability. We know that given the right support and opportunities, people with a learning disability can broaden their horizons and achieve a lot in life.

• 1.5 million people in the UK have a learning disability.

• 200 babies are born with a learning disability every week.

• 9 out of 10 people with a learning disability get bullied.

• There are more than 29,000 people with a severe or profound learning disability who live at home with carers aged over 70.

It’s important to understand that people with a learning disability are individuals with their own personalities, likes and dislikes, goals and ambitions.

A learning disability does not prevent someone from learning and achieving a lot in life, if given the right support.

A learning disability is not:

• a mental illness – though, just like everyone else, someone with a learning disability may have mental health problems

• a disease – learning disability is not contagious and it doesn’t mean that someone is ill or unhealthy

• a mental handicap – most people with a learning disability find this outmoded term offensive

NB ‘Learning difficulty’ is a broad term that encompasses things like dyslexia –which are undoubtedly difficulties, but do not constitute a ‘disability’.