From the Cradle to the Grave

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From the Cradle to the Grave

• Dr Paschal McKeown
• Policy Information Manager
• Mencap - Northern Ireland

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From the Cradle to the Grave

• Acknowledgements

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About Learning Disability

• Definition
• Needs/circumstances
• Forms of abuse
• Impact on carers/families

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Abuse of People with a Learning Disability

• Failure to detect/respond
• Desire to protect impact on rights
• Measures which monitor/control
• Balanced approach required
• Challenging, person centred services

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Vulnerability of People with a Learning
Disability

• Diverse population
• Non-enjoyment of rights
• Lack of understanding of learning disability
• Failure to value and respect
• Dependency on others

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Non-Enjoyment of Rights

• Care rather than a rights culture
• Duty of care/autonomy
• Lack of knowledge/ information about rights
• Absence of advocacy/support
• Lack of experience in exercising rights
• Inaccessible legal processes

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Challenges

• Complexity of the issues
• - Capacity and consent
• - Relationships within families/with carers
• - Confusion between sexual expression and
  sexual abuse
• - POCVA

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Challenges

• What Progress Have We Made?
• - Regional policy and guidance
• - Our response to abusers with a learning
  disability?
• - How we support survivors of abuse?
• Dealing with public myths?

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What Needs to be Done

• Promotion of rights
• Protection and prevention
• Service use and interfaces
• Dealing with the Hidden Pain

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Promotion of Rights

• Accessible information
• Training
• Individuals with a learning disability
• Public and private services
• Support to access rights
• Use of legal process

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Protection and Prevention

• Investment in support/intervention
• Shared agreements around risks/controls
• Empowerment
• Individuals with a learning disability
• Families/carers
• Good quality networks
• Immediate action if abuse takes place

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Service use and Interfaces

• Non-reliance on single service use
• Person centred services and procedures
• Accessible mainstream services with appropriate
  links to learning disability services
• Balanced, proportionate procedures

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Dealing with the Hidden Pain

• Research into all the areas
• Abuse
• Inadequate services/support
• Daily life experiences of people with a learning
  disability of all ages
• Good practice around responding to risk

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Dealing with the Hidden Pain

• Listening to people with a learning disability
• Development of a range of advocacy options, e.g.
  peer, self advocacy
• Training programmes around personal safety,
  personal relationships, managing money,
  travelling independently etc
• Support/training around bullying/harassment
• Training on communication
• Use of multimedia

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A Place of Expertise

• People who have been abused
• People who abuse
• Families/carers

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Dealing with Hidden Pain

• Interagency working
• Priority for all agencies concerned
• Shared approaches and responsibility
• Services which are accessible to people
• with a learning disability
• Services which actively reach and engage with
  people with a learning disability

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Dealing with the Hidden Pain

• Priority for the Commissioners for Children and
  Young People and for Human Rights
• Training/information on rights
• To act as a champion of rights
• Support to take forward individual cases