SOCIAL CARE

Current Policy on Adult Learning Disability Social Care and Its Impact on a 'Dependent' Group

Table of Contents

Introduction1

History of learning disability in UK2

Effect of Normalisation on People with Learning Disability4

Effect of Personalisation on People with Learning Disability4

Issues affecting service user's wellbeing5

Change in the lives of people because of policy7

Contemporary policy interventions in UK7

Mental deficiency Act 19138

Valuing people 20019

Putting people first 200710

References12

Current Policy on Adult Learning Disability Social Care and Its Impact on a 'Dependent' Group

Introduction

Learning disability is a term which is used widely in the UK in order to describe the mental retardation, mental handicap and other developmental disabilities in a person. The term is a rather less offensive way of describing the mental condition of a person. People with learning disabilities are more vulnerable to health and social problems than the other people. These are people who have a problem with learning (Burton, 2004, p. 1). The problems differ from person to person. The person does not only have trouble in learning things but his also results in the person not being able to use a certain set of skills. Both children and adults can have learning disabilities. When it comes to the number of adults with learning disability in the UK, there are three ways to asses this number. The number will include the number of people who are using the various services provided for learning disability, the number of people who have been identified in any of the ways as being affected by learning disability and the estimate of adults with learning disability in the past. These numbers can only be estimated on the basis of past trends.

Learning disability is divided into two groups. There are those who are suffering from minor learning disability and then there are those who are suffering from severe form of learning disability. People who suffer from severe learning disability are heavily dependent on others. They need a carer for them to be able to perform their daily tasks (Sanderson & Duffy, 2006, p. 56). On the other hand, people with mild learning disability do not necessarily need the services of a carer. They are able to manage their lives easily on their own. The vulnerability of the adults with learning disability must be understood from the example that people who suffer from Down's syndrome have a higher risk of being affected by cardiac diseases.

The learning disability figures for adults in UK are given hereunder (Malin & Race, 2010, p. 315):

History of learning disability in UK

Learning disability is a historical problem in the UK. This is reflected in not only the number of people who have been diagnosed as suffering from disability but also the changes in the policy framework and legislations that have taken place over time. Learning disability in the past in UK has affected both children and adults.

When it comes to learning disabilities in UK, historically, parents were recognized as their children's primary educator. They were ultimately responsible for their children's education, socialization and ...