Learning Disability Week 2022

20-26 June 2022 is Learning Disability Week!

The annual campaign (pioneered by learning disability charity, Mencap) is about showing the world what life with a learning disability is really like.

At Abacus Care & Support, we know that people with learning disabilities are a gift to our communities. People with learning disabilities have unique gifts, skills and challenges which contribute to a beautifully diverse society. We also know that all too often, the ‘voices’ of people with learning disabilities are kept quiet.

Well, this week we are encouraging you to GET LOUD about life with a learning disability! Read on to learn about Mencap’s three objectives for the campaign, and simple ways you can get involved.

One: Educate and raise awareness about learning disabilities

You can…

• Take the Mencap learning disability quiz to test your knowledge, and learn more about learning disabilities
• Subscribe to the Learning Disability Today newsletter to keep up to date with the latest learning-disability-related news stories
• Share a fact about your life with learning disability on social media, using the hashtag #LDWeek22

Two: Smash stigmas and end discrimination

• Become a Mencap myth-buster and tell the world about a myth you want to bust about being a person with learning disability. Read about how others are busting myths here
• Educate yourself about the stigma and discrimination facing people with learning disabilities
• Share an image of you or someone you care about destroying an assumption about having a learning disability and use the hashtag #LDWeek22. (Have you ever been told you can’t do something, only to prove them wrong?)

Three: Fight and campaign for a fair society

• Contribute to vital research and share your experience by filling in The Big Learning Disability Survey
• Discover United Response’s campaigning opportunities and take a stand for learning disability rights
• Get social! If you’re a social media user, why not get intentional about the organisations you follow? Sharing interesting and important content from reputable social media accounts is a quick and easy way to campaign. You could follow: Mencap, Scope, Learning Disability Matters, NHS Ability, Learning Disability Today (and many more!)

We know that it’s impossible to share all the joys and obstacles of life with learning disability in just one week! But the Learning Disability Week provides us with a chance to start the conversation.

How will you use your ‘voice’ this week?

Text found at www.mencap.org.uk has influenced the content of this blog.

This post was written by Amy Bianchi