New research from Mencap


shows bullying of people with a learning disability leading to social isolation


N


ew research by Mencap has found that fear of being bullied is leading to social isolation for people with a learning disability. Over 1 in 3 people with a learning disability said that being bullied is one of the things they worry about most when they go out, according to the new figures from Mencap. In a


survey of 1000 adults with a learning disability, the top three things respondents said they are worried about when they go out are:


• PEOPLE CALLING THEM NAMES OR BULLYING THEM • USING PUBLIC TRANSPORT • GETTING LOST


It is this fear and worry that means people with a learning disability feel reluctant to leave their homes


and get out and about – taking part in sport, attending hospital visits or enjoying social activities. Worryingly, isolation is a significant problem, with over two thirds of people with a learning disability reporting they didn’t have anyone to spend time with either some of or a lot of the time. Vijay Patel, Mencap Ambassador who has a learning disability, experienced bullying at school and


social isolation. He was discriminated against in many ways, including always being picked last in PE because of his learning disability. This affected his confidence and made him feel excluded. Of this time, Vijay Patel says: “Every time it came to picking teams my classmates just saw my learning disability and thought I wasn’t good enough. Being picked last made me feel really low. I didn’t have many friends at school, and I didn’t feel included. It also made me feel like I couldn’t take part in the things I wanted to do. “Everything changed when I joined my local Mencap group to take part in sporting activities with other


people with a learning disability. I enjoyed taking part in sport every month and it made me feel less isolated. It helped me go from low confidence to high confidence! Now I play in a football team and they’ve made me the vice-captain! I am also part of the Mencap running group – something I never got to do before – and also play softball and ten-pin bowling. These opportunities have given me the confidence to believe in myself and prove that I can do it. “The most important thing to me as a person with a learning disability is that I don’t want to be left out.


No one should be left out; everyone should be included. By taking part in sport, I want to show other people with a learning disability that they can do it too.” Jan Tregelles, Chief Executive of the learning disability charity Royal Mencap Society, said: “Exclusion


and discrimination stop many people with a learning disability living the life they deserve. Fear of abuse means many people are afraid to leave their homes, cutting them off from the outside world. For advice and information about learning disability and Mencap services in your area,


contact Mencap’s freephone Learning Disability Helpline on 0808 808 1111 (9am-3pm, Monday-Friday) or email helpline@mencap.org.uk .


What is a learning disability?


• A learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability which can cause problems 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. 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.


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Ability Needs Magazine


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