NEWS

Advantage Healthcare, one of the UK's leading providers of health and social care workers is backing Mencap's Learning Disabilities Week, which this year aims to highlight the problems young people have with discrimination and bullying.

With up to an estimated 2.1 million people in the UK having some form of learning disability, the statistics on verbal and even physical abuse are alarming.

Melissa Gane, Marketing Manager for Advantage Healthcare says: "Although the way society sees people with learning disabilities has changed significantly, almost a quarter of adults with learning disabilities have experienced physical abuse and 47% some kind of verbal abuse or bully. Perhaps the most worrying statistic however is the fact that 90% of those reported some form of abuse had occurred in the last year. Many children don't report bullying or social exclusion so these figures could in fact be higher."

She added: "Quite often its not that people don't care, it's that they don't realise someone has a learning difficulty or if they do, there's an innate sense of fear which takes over. With the range of learning disabilities that people suffer from being so diverse, and the fact that the person themselves is not always aware of their own condition, you begin to see what a complex area this is."

Advantage Healthcare provides support workers for young people and adults. They have experience in areas such as autism, challenging behaviour as well as clients who have acquired brain injuries.

Aiming to empower young people by teaching them the skills to integrate better into the community and lead independent lives, Advantage support workers help teach everything from how to handle money and budget through to social integration and how to obtain professional qualifications such as NVQ's.

Melissa continued: "The sad fact is that our carer's and the people they look after still face discrimination. We have instances where they have taken disabled young people to zoos, cinema's, soft plays and other parents have removed their children from the area where our young people are. They have also experienced discrimination from staff at some venues. Luckily our carers and support workers are strong willed people who are passionate about the welfare of the young people they look after and are able to deal with such situations well."

Advantage also provides a vital respite service which allows parents and carers time to relax, recoup, spend time with other children in the family, and carryout some of the everyday tasks that they can't do whilst providing care. Advantage carers also lend an ear to parents or carers who are not able to cope.

Melissa concluded: "Families of children and young adults with learning difficulties face a number of obstacles in society, whether it is social exclusion or the constant pressure of looking after a child with a learning disability. We would urge everyone this week to look at learning disabilities with fresh eyes."

To find out more about the services we can provide, contact your local branch.