So far, 2012 has not been a good news year for people withlearning disabilities. Such things as the continuing Care QualityCommission reports on residential facilities failing to meetessential standards and cuts to social care funding leading topeople losing their services have painted a bleak picture… So it’stime to redress the balance a little. With such bad news regularlyfeaturing in the LDT newsletter, it is easy for this to overshadowthe good work that is being done around the country – of whichthere is a lot. I regularly get sent press releases about servicesthat are doing great work with and for people with learningdisabilities. Some of these make it onto the news pages of thewebsite; others get expanded into features in the print edition ofLearning Disability Today. For example, picking a story atrandom from my inbox, in just over a year, staff at CMG’s AvenueRoad supported living service in South Norwood have helped MorrisWalters, who has autism, to gain employment, as well as develop hislife skills, such as cooking and travelling. To see the full story,click here. Individually, stories like thisare great for the people they are helping, whether it is to gainemployment, move into a home of their own, or learning valuablelife skills. But it also reminds everyone that it is not all doomand gloom for people with learning disabilities – there is somegreat and often innovative work going on that makes a realdifference to people’s lives. In times such as these, when the newsis often bad – there is no escaping the reality that life is toughand getting tougher for many people with learning disabilities – itis even more important to remember that there are still many goodthings happening all over the country, and these should becelebrated whenever and wherever possible. If you have any’good news’ stories that you want to publicise, please email me [email protected].
