Learning disability
There are around a million adults with a learning disability in England. A learning disability is caused by something affecting the way the brain develops and usually occurs during pregnancy, birth or because of an illness in childhood. It is a lifelong condition and is not the same as a mental illness.
Some facts
There are many different types of learning disability, most of which affect a person's capacity to learn.
Learning disability is also known as learning difficulty, intellectual impairment or intellectual disability.
Often attitudes towards people with a learning disability create barriers and contribute to discrimination and social exclusion. In effect this leads to people being disenfranchised. Fortunately there is now legislation in place to address this and attitudes are beginning to change. But, much more needs to be done to break down these barriers through good inclusive practice.
People with a learning disability have much to offer and have the same rights as everyone else to be heard, have a say, get involved and make their contribution as equal citizens.
As well as around a million adults with a learning disability there are estimated to be as many as 1 in 5 people with low literacy levels in England. This means that a highly significant amount of people rely on others to ensure they can access important information and activities.
When it comes specifically to engaging in the democratic process, people with a learning disability often
- have limited choice and control in their lives
- are excluded from many activities that others take for granted
- need someone else to help them interpret and understand any written information. This could include any letters, leaflets, flyers, or surveys posted through their doors
- need support to fill in any forms, or other requests for information. This could be registering to vote, or filling in a ballot paper
- need support to access and find out about information that is of interest to them. This could be finding out what a political party thinks about a key issue, or what different candidates in an election are saying
- need support to understand the democratic process and to engage in it. This could be contacting their political representatives about something that is important to them.
Barriers
People with a learning disability tell us that one of the main barriers to getting involved in the democratic process is the lack of accessible information available.
Accessible information makes it possible for people to find out what they need to know and enables supporters to use it as a tool for engagement.
This means the responsibility lies with all political stakeholders to ensure their information is fully accessible, simplified and in different formats, to reach people with a learning disability.
