The last great civil rights issue? Attitudes towards and treatment of people with a learning disability

The definition of learning disability in the UK encompasses people with a broad range of disability, and includes the presence of a significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information or to learn new skills (impaired intelligence), or a reduced ability to cope independently (impai...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Diversity and equality in health and care 2013-05, Vol.10 (2), p.69-71
Main Authors: Marie O'Boyle Duggan, Johnson, Tony
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Civil rights
Communication
Disability
Exploitation
Handicapped accessibility
Hate crimes
Intellectual disabilities
Intelligence
Learning disabilities
Learning disabled people
Murders & murder attempts
Social functioning
Society
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Summary:The definition of learning disability in the UK encompasses people with a broad range of disability, and includes the presence of a significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information or to learn new skills (impaired intelligence), or a reduced ability to cope independently (impaired social functioning), which started before adulthood and has a lasting effect on development. Learning disability is a UK term that equates to intellectual impairment, mental handicap and mental retardation, terms that are used elsewhere. In such cases the person with a learning disability is targeted and then ‘befriended’ by a group or an individual for the purposes of financial or other forms of exploitation, which may in turn lead to physical abuse and, in extreme cases, murder. Mencap’s report on hospital care was based on six case studies which exemplified the neglect of patients with learning disabilities, neglect which extended to unnecessary, avoidable death (Mencap, 2007).
ISSN:2049-5471
2049-548X