Success is a subjective word, driven by our own unique goals, values, and priorities, and can therefore be difficult to define. It is for this reason that Learning Disability Network (LDN) London hosted an event discussing what success means to people with a learning disability.
“Success means lots of different things to lots of different people, and we should all have the opportunity to define it as we wish,” says Saba Salman, who chaired the event at London Canal Museum.
Saba, an award-winning journalist and author, was joined five self-advocates who all provided unique insights into their experiences of success in different fields including campaign work, the arts and employment.
The first speaker to take the stage was Laura Broughton. Laura is a social care consultant and an artist who has a learning disability and has shown her work at the Royal Academy summer exhibition.
Laura says people often do not realise she has a learning disability, and she uses art to “unite” people and “draw attention to our varied yet often unseen differences.”
Laura says there are different kinds of success, but ultimately, it’s about finding something you love and achieving your goals to the best of your ability. However, she adds that most people will need a good support network around them who see and believe in your potential.
“[My mother] has given me a passion for life, a passion for art, and a passion to continue. [She taught me] not to look at difficulties as a problem; it’s more about finding a way of solving an issue, not seeing it as a negative.”
Sheri King, a performer with Corali Dance Company, and Daniel Greenfield, an usher at the Lyceum Theatre and a volunteer at St Mary’s Hospital, then spoke about their goals, ambitions and experiences working and volunteering.
Daniel has made some incredible achievements during his time in both roles, including when he once alerted the nurses to a lady who was having a heart attack, which helped to save her life.
Sheri spoke about her successful dance career to date. She has performed across the UK and Europe, and dreams of becoming a dance teacher in the future. She said: “Dance has been a big part of my life because I dance with passion, love, and joy …. I’ve been dancing for eight years … and I would like to become a dance teacher because I can learn the skills as I grow. It will give me self-expression, discipline, professionalism, confidence and commitment.”
The evening finished with a discussion about self-advocacy and campaigning with two self-advocates: Gary Bourlet, the founder of Learning Disability England, and Fahmina Hoque, who gives advice as part of Hampshire Learning Disability Partnership.
When asked what success means to him, Gary said: “Success is having self-determination and confidence, building self-esteem, and having assertive skills without being aggressive.”
He also spoke about the importance of self-advocacy and how we can ensure a better future for people with learning disabilities. He said self-advocacy is: “Speaking up for yourself, deciding what you want to do now and in the future, understanding your strengths and weakness, developing your personal goals, standing up for yourself and making your own decisions.”
Gary says that while some progress has been made on changing attitudes towards people with learning disabilities, he says it is integral that the next generation continues to ‘carry on the good fight’.
He said: “I’m hoping the next young generation coming through to become future self-advocates will continue the fight and continue making lives better for all people with learning disabilities. Especially getting more people from minority ethnic groups to become part of the self-advocacy movement, as well as those with more complex needs.”
Fahmina says, to her, success is about achieving goals. “[Success] makes me feel like I’m a puzzle and I’m putting all the pieces together to see where I fit in,” she said. “It makes me proud of myself when I have completed the puzzle.”
Self-advocacy is important, she says, because it helps people with learning disabilities to get their voices heard, whether that be getting the right social care support or accessing good quality healthcare.
She says one of the biggest challenges now is to increase awareness of learning disabilities. “A lot of people don’t have awareness about learning disabilities … a lot of people don’t or will not understand how my learning disability affects me, because it is invisible,” she said.
Fahmina now wants the government to focus on people with learning disabilities to ensure everyone’s individual needs are met. She said: “My wish list for the government is for them to continue improving social care plans, keep special needs schools open and find ways to improve schools. We need more awareness for people with learning disabilities and for us to be included.”
