Learning Disability and-or Autism Initiative 2024 Summary

Our vision is for people with a Learning Disability and/or Autism to have the same opportunity as everyone else to live safe and healthy lives and to be treated with dignity and respect.

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The National Autistic Society estimates that there are

700,000 people in the UK who have autism which accounts for 1.1% of the population and there are to be predicted 1.4m people in the UK who have a learning disability and around

350,000 have a severe learning disability. ihaveavoice.co.uk

Unfortunately, there have been some shocking circumstances of care and abuse to those individuals who have a learning disability and/or autism, as highlighted in the Mencap 2007 report ‘Death by Indifference.’ Other examples of poor care include the Winterbourne review (2011) and more recently at Muckamore Abbey in Northern Ireland (2017). Provide Community want to see to it that we offer the best possible care.

OBJECTIVES

Learning Disability and/or Autism Initiative 2024

This strategy sets out a clear vision on how we can work differently and more effectively to improve the lives of individuals who have a learning disability, and/or autism, who are part of our community and come into contact with our services. Our vision states that people with a learning disability and/or autism have the same opportunities as everyone else to live safe and healthy lives and to be treated with dignity and respect.

We will know who are service users are with a learning disability and/or autism and identify them in order to make reasonable adjustments at an early stage.

We want people with learning disabilities and autism to live long and healthy lives and have access to personalised health care so that individuals can get the right support and treatment at the right time by understanding and making reasonable adjustments.

We will continue to review our training and professional development programme at all levels of the organisation.

We will engage with people with learning disabilities and autism to inform our training and continuous professional development programme and service improvements.

We will raise awareness of the health vulnerabilities of people with learning disabilities and/or autism to avoid premature deaths.

We will review the role of the Learning Disability Champion to ensure that there is expertise within the organisation which is sustainable and accessible to support practitioners, service users and families to get the right support and expertise when needed.

We will ensure that our staff are aware of, and know how to make reasonable adjustments for people with learning disabilities and/or autism.

We will work closely with our partners and contribute to the transition process so that the young people we support can be prepared more effectively for adulthood.

We will continually benchmark our services against national and local quality standards and guidance, reviewing and making service improvements.

We will ensure that people with learning disabilities and their families/ carers who come into contact with our services, are supported to stay as independent as possible.

Introducing...

Suzy

Our logo is based on a winning badge design by Susan Docksey, a resident from one of our Supported Living homes, and the hedgehog is named Suzy in her honour. Suzy has become the symbol for our Learning Disability and/or Autism Initiative.

A badge with the Suzy logo is worn by champions of our initiative who are committed to raising awareness within our organisation and developing reasonable adjustments to improve the lives of individuals with learning disabilities and or autism, who are part of our community or use our services.