Domestic Violence.
Disabled women are
particularly more vulnerable to abuse. Research has shown that disabled women
experience abuse at least twice as often as non-disabled women. Abusers -
including personal assistants (P.A.s) and carers - may exploit a woman's
particular condition or impairment.
There are also additional barriers that a disabled woman must overcome
when she seeks help.
It's common for abusers
to use disabled women's impairments to control and hurt them through:
Physical abuse: pushing
her onto the floor when she is unable to get back up, hitting her when she
cannot get away from him, and ignoring her care needs.
Sexual abuse: disabled
women are twice as likely to be raped or assaulted.
Psychological abuse:
control of contact with the outside world, telling her that no one else would
want her because of her impairments, locking her in a room, refusing to take
her to the bathroom (if she cannot get there without assistance), hiding her
possessions including the aides she needs to be independent.
Financial abuse: not
allowing her to have any financial independence, having to beg for everything
she needs, having her disability benefits taken from her, taking money from her
without her permission or knowledge.
Getting away from abuse
is often harder for disabled women because access to help and support is often
controlled by the abuser.
Women's Aid has published a report which
explores disabled women’s experiences of domestic violence and investigates
existing service provision available to them.
Domestic violence is a
form of crime, which could be anything from bullying, abuse, beating and or
even the end of life. It can be very stressful to see people go through these
things as well as seeing people going through with it. It can be even worse
when you already have disabilities and health problems without Domestic
Violence.
Adults tend to tell
children that school years are the best years of their lives but it's not for
everyone. Over the years crime has grown to the point that we have because more
aware of it than we used to be. 20 to 30 years ago and more children were seen
and not heard. Think of something bad happening to you but you don't know how
to tell anyone. You're not supposing know what's happening to you because
you're a child. When you have disabilities and health problems it doesn't seem
to change much as an adult but even worse when you’re a child with disabilities
and health problems.
Over the years there's
been a lot of abuse in boarding schools and Care homes when people with
disabilities and health problems were away from their families. In many cases these things still go on today but
professions from most places are CRBed. The hardest thing though is that there
can be many children who can cause crime to other children; it's not always the
fault of adults.
How your job as a student Learning Disability nurse could come into it, if a person with a learning disability as faced Domestic violence? If person has been hurt, harmed or and injured through Domestic violence.
What is learning disability?
People with learning
disabilities and health problems find it hard to make ourselves understood.
There are different
disabilities and different health problems. Except anything off people with
disabilities like we except anything off you.
Just like all of you
are, every person with a learning disability is a different person. Every
person with a disability has different disabilities.
Don't except people with
the same disabilities or and same Mental Health problems to find the same
things hard. We are all different as human beings whether we have disabilities
or not.
Different disabilities
and different health problems affect different people in different ways.
Expected the unexpected
for eg; not everyone with the same disabilities needs the same support.
A learning disability is
a reduced intellectual ability and difficulty with everyday activities – for
example household tasks, socializing or managing money – which affects someone
for their whole life.
People with a learning
disability tend to take longer to learn and may need support to develop new skills,
understand complex information and interact with other people.
The level of support
someone needs depends on individual factors, including the severity of their
learning disability. For example, someone with a mild learning disability may
only need support with things like getting a job. However, someone with a
severe or profound learning disability may need full-time care and support with
every aspect of their life – they may also have physical disabilities.
People with certain
specific conditions can have a learning disability too. For example, people
with Down’s syndrome and some people with autism have a learning disability.
Learning disability is
often confused with dyslexia and mental health problems. Mencap describes
dyslexia as a “learning difficulty” because, unlike learning disability, it
does not affect intellect. Mental health problems can affect anyone at any time
and may be overcome with treatment, which is not true of learning disability.
It’s important to
remember that with the right support, most people with a learning disability in
the UK can lead independent lives.
Learning disability is
not an illness, it is a permanent condition in some cases a can be linked to
disabilities. Most people with disabilities can be socially disadvantaged as
consequence.
A learning disability is
a disorder that inhibits or affects peoples' abilities to learn for eg'
speaking, listening, reading, writing, maths and etc.
There all different
levels of disabilities so different people need different kinds of support.
People with Profound and severe disabilities
need help with their everyday lives. They may have problems communicating and
they may have physical disabilities.
People with Moderate and
mild disabilities may need a little or no support for eg; support with social
and or emotional issues.
Causes
A learning disability
happens when the brain is still developing - before, during or soon after
birth.
Before birth things can
happen to the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) that can cause
a learning disability. A child can be born with a learning disability if the
mother has an accident or illness while she is pregnant, or if the unborn baby
develops certain genes. Genes are chemicals in our bodies that contain
information about us - like how we look.
A person can be born
with a learning disability if he or she does not get enough oxygen during
childbirth, or is born too early.
After birth, a learning
disability can be caused by early childhood illnesses.
Getting a diagnosis of
learning disability
A learning disability
can be diagnosed at any time. A child may be diagnosed at birth, or a parent or
professional may notice a difference in their development during early
childhood. For some people it may be many years before they receive a diagnosis
– while others may never receive a diagnosis at all.
Even with a diagnosis,
it is often not possible to say why someone has a learning disability.
We've heard from a lot of parents how
difficult the experience of diagnosis can be, especially when there are still
so many uncertainties about the future. But there is a lot of support and
information available, and lots of reasons to be optimistic about the future.
Although getting a
diagnosis can be a very difficult and emotional experience for families, it is
often the first step to accessing the care and support they need for the
future.
Find out more about
getting a diagnosis of learning disability and where to get help and support.http://www.ehow.com/info_8284419_qualifies-disability.html
Facts about learning
disability.
Most people with a
learning disability are treated as ‘different'. They do not have the same
control over their own lives as the rest of our society and face challenges and
prejudice every day.
Less than 1 in 5 people
with a learning disability work (compared with 1 in 2 disabled people
generally), but we know that at least 65% of people with a learning disability
want to work. Of those people with a learning disability that do work, most
only work part time and are low paid.
Just 1 in 3 people with
a learning disability take part in some form of education or training.
Children with a learning
disability are often socially excluded and 8 out of 10 children with a learning
disability are bullied.
1 in 2 families with a
disabled child live in poverty.
At least half of all
adults with a learning disability live in the family home - meaning that many
don't get the same chances as other people to gain independence, learn key
skills and make choices about their own lives.
58,000 people with a
learning disability are supported by day care services.
People with a learning
disability are 58 times more likely to die aged under 50 than other people. And
four times as many people with a learning disability die of preventable causes
as people in the general population.
75% of GPs have received
no training to help them treat people with a learning disability.
Less than a third of
people with a learning disability have some choice of who they live with, and
less than half have some choice over where they live.
7 out of 10 families
caring for someone with profound and multiple learning disabilities have
reached or come close to ‘breaking point' because of a lack of short break
services.
29,000 adults with a
learning disability live with parents aged 70 or over, many of whom are too old
or frail to continue in their caring role. In only 1 in 4 of these cases have
local authorities planned
Alternative housing.
Mencap is here to make
sure people with a learning disability have the chance to change the world they
live in and live their lives as they choose.
Understanding Anxiety and Depression.
Anxiety and depression is
very hard to understand if you don't face it yourself. Anxiety is when life
seems harder than it is.
Anxiety can be a fear of things going on when
they are not.
A person could be
worrying more than they should.
Even though they may be
right, they need to be you to understand why you worry like you do.
The world seems big when
it is small.
As mad as it sounds to
you a person may feel lonely even when they are not.
It seems hard to believe
when people tell you have nothing to worry about or not that much to worry
about.
Anxiety and depression
can be linked into learning disability.
Anxiety and depression
is bad for enough anyone.
Everyone suffers from
Anxiety and depression one way or another.
Sadly there's not enough
said about stress I think we need to raise Stress awareness for everyone, that
includes people with LD and Health problems.
Some people don't know
that some people stuffer Learning disability and Health problems together,
that's what I have otherwise, I wouldn't have known that.
Anxiety and depression
are forms of stress in every ones' lives.
Many things can get on
top of people, paying bills, not enough work, too much work, marriage,
relationships, children and even loneliness.
It's very hard to make a
balance to keep healthy and happy.
This can be why a lot of
people can turn to smoking, drugs and etc.
When you have learning
disabilities there can be a lack of support off society because we are slow and
find it harder to cope with our lives than other people yet we are easier ill
than other people.
Stress, Depression and
Anxiety can last short term or for life.
If you think about it we
can all stuffer stress one way or another.
Anxiety and depression
is linked into my learning disability.
Anxiety and depression
is bad for enough anyone.
Everyone suffers from
Anxiety and depression one way or another.
Sadly there's not enough
said about stress I think we need to raise Stress awareness for everyone, that
includes people with LD and Health problems.
Some people don't know
that some people stuffer LD and Health problems together, that's what I have
otherwise, I wouldn't have known that.
Anxiety and depression
are forms of stress in every ones' lives.
It's very hard to make a
balance to keep healthily and happy.
This can be why a lot of
people can turn to smoking, drugs and etc.
When you have learning
disabilities there can be a lack of support off society because we are slow
Stress, Depression and
Anxiety can last short term or for life.
If you think about it we
can all stuffer stress one way or another.
It's so easy to worry about
things that you didn't need to but with something you were right doing so.
If you would like to
have more understanding with the mind.
You may learn what’s,
whys and how the mind is is or can be affected.
Some people can panic in
crowds.
Other people worry in
case they haven't locked the door.
Some people worry in
case they have forgotten important things for eg; keys, bus pass and etc.
For eg; some people it's
too easy to make a mountain out of mole hill.
Some things may seem
worse than what they are.
We understand for eg;
that we have to pay our bills like everyone else but with the problems we have
already, we have double stress.
A person may feel tense.
A person may feel as if
the world is controlling them.
Some people panic when they walk into a service
when different staff tells them different information about one thing.
Managers should make
staff aware of what the rules are and of any changes.
Tap in Mind and Rethink
in the Google engine or whatever you have got.
Save it in your favorites or Bookmarks if you can.
Whatever Health problems and disabilities we have that's our stress on its
own.
Out of sight out mind.
Looking behind you.
Not knowing what is going to happen next.
The pain never ends.
You are too young to know what's going on and the reason why but there's no
reason why anything bad should be going.
As the years go by you still don't forgot.
You can see it in your mind.
It's still hard to come to terms with even after years.
There's more to you than just a victim of Domestic Violence.
Even after years and years the bad memories go through your mind.
Every day and night seems very dark.
It goes over and over in your mind don't you find?
You’re sitting up and looking round accepting someone to hurt you can
again, it's so easy to live your life in fear.
Every 5 minutes going to the bathroom, vomiting in fear in case anything
could have happened next.
You are still strong enough to live your life and look forward to the good
to come.
They lose you win, they may well get away with it now but in time they have
hell to come.
Weak to strong.
Nothing worse than not knowing what's happened to you.
The nasty pictures are in your mind for life.
If life is like this, you just don't
want to live anymore you want to put your fingers down your throat and make
yourself sick.
You want to run away from school.
No you don't want to do these things the dark is very scary when you’re a
child, that's what keeps you strong.
Years on you're still here, the victim child is now an adult, no more flash
backs.
The weekend can't be slow enough, if it goes any faster, it will be time to
go back to school and face all over again.
Don't run away, someone will hurt you, then your family will be worried
about you.
Not nice to leave your family wonder why you don't enjoy life so this
leaves them in the dark to why you may end your life!
The dark isn't a nice place for a child.
Give it time your true nightmare will be over then you can look forward not
back.
Age 16 seems a long way when your only 7 years old.
You feel as if you have a lot to say that you don't how to say so you will
never be understood.
As a child you feel alone learning about the big wide world.
You wouldn't wish on anyone yet you feel alone.
Slowly people are learning to understand.
Some things are hard to talk about.
It takes long enough to talk about even then it's not explained or
understood.
Little do you know you have so much to learn?
Disability, Bullying and Hate Crime.
We are seen but not heard.
It's hard to believe it if you don't see.
It's hard to know what's happened when you’re not there.
People with learning disabilities find it hard to make ourselves under
stood.
We can't help the way we are.
Most things are hard to talk about it can be hard to get things off our
minds.
It can be hard to get Hate Crime off our minds.
People who do Hate Crime should get a life time.
Most people who bully as children do Hate Crime as adults.
Most people today get away with bullying and Hate Crime because the law
lets them.
There used to be a time that children were taught to learn right from
wrong.
People who bully and do Hate Crime get away with it forever or for a long
time.
Just because people don't see us get hurt it doesn't mean we don't.
You see some of us can't stand up for ourselves.
Not many of us who can stand up for ourselves.
Those of us who do manage to stand up for ourselves get misunderstood for
the bullies.
The world thinks we are bullies instead of victims.
People who bully and or do hate crime don't always get found out.
Rape, rape.
Rape rape has damages the body and mind.
Rape rips you up inside.
The world seems black and white.
The flash backs don't from when it happens until your life ends.
No matter how hard you try to put the past behind it is still there
Years later it's hard to explain.
It's not surprising its hard be understood and believed when not seen.
Your stronger and braver than you think because your still here after all
those years.
And find it harder to cope with our lives than other people yet we are more
easily ill than other people.
Worry about.
Accessible Information guidelines.
Never think that every person understands information the same.
The best person to ask is the people
themselves.
This is how most of us may understand information.
Ask people with disabilities and health problems to look at the
information.
Ask them if the information you have written is easy for them to read and
understand.
Use words that we use all the time.
Write in short and clear sentences.
Just have one idea for one sentence.
Use one active verb for eg; John loves Mary not Mary is loved by John.
Use full stops.
Use bullet points.
123 or ABC for instructions.
Do not use abbreviations for eg; do not don't.
If you have to use more than one page use a page a subject.
Use page numbers.
Avoid columns.
It's easier to read across the page.
On forms leave a lot of room for people to fill in the information.
Do boxes rather than lines for people to write in.
Pictures on the left of the writing.
Writing on the right of the page.
It could be hard if you are writing for another language.
Do not float text on top or across the page.
Show times with pictures of clocks.
Times New Roman should be in 12 hrs format.
Some cartoon pictures can be childish.
Maps are hard to understand so write directions down in 123 or ABC.
Explain the place in words as well as pictures.
Try not to use charts they are too hard.
Using a pretty picture on a poster or leaf it does not make it clear enough
to say what the information is about.
Use typeface that's clear like Arial or FS Mencap.
Make sure headings are clear.
Make sure writing stand out against the coloured paper.
Green is not a good colour on paper.
Words in white (reversed out text) on a coloured background can be harder
to read.
If you are writing something with a lot of pages think about using colour
coding to make different sections clear.
Remember not everyone recognizes colours.
Shiny paper makes it hard to see words and pictures because it reflects
light.
Information you can read like a book is easier to follow when writing lots
of sheets.
Make your book A5 size or larger so it's easier to hold the pages.
Use bold for high lighting words that are important.
Italics and block capital change the shape of the words and make them hard
to read.
No jargon and no words jumping off the page, which means large print.
Something clear and well planned with all key point information.
Don't talk too fast.
Slow down if you do talk too fast.
Explain things slowly.
Use Lateral language.
Meaning tone and body language.
Sign language for the deaf.
Brail for the blind.
Using gestures expression give visual clues about what you are saying.
Lean Makaton signing.
Not everything is accessible to people's needs and wants.
Accessible information takes time but it is really important.
One size does not fit all.
The most important thing about making information accessible is the people
that use it.
Does the person need LARGER PRINT?
Would photos, pictures or and symbols help the person understand
information better?
Before taking pictures of building ask staff, managers or and etc first.
Would the person find it easier to access information by watching DVDs or
CDs with may be a book to follow the information with the right support if
needed?
For eg; is this benefit right for me?
No jargon and not too much information.
To be truthful the answer is either yes or no not both.
Managers need to inform all staff on what the rules are otherwise people
get confused.
We need better face to face contact with people around us.
Better communication.
We need to be more valued by people.
People should be better mannered towards us, for eg; the tone of people's
voices.
How people speak and what they say make them misunderstood like all people.
Individualized service.
Think of how you can make information more clearly for people with learning
disabilities.
Most people can't read but even most people who can read can find it hard
to take information in.
Keep sentences, words short and as less words as you can.
Some computers don't have as many tools to make information accessible so
your writing may have to be written in capital letters and large print to suit
most people's needs.
Making information accessible is about making it easier to read and
understand.
There different ways to do accessible information for different people.
Font 12- 22 text, headings centered, underlined, bold 14 -24.
Using less word.
Making information easy to find.
Using photographs
Using a "bud dying system," where people have someone to help
them go through information with them or ask questions.
Comic San, Ariel or FS Mencap can be bought.
Don't use words that only specialist would understand or acronyms. This
means shortening word to a few letters.
Some people want clear coloured with different ink on different coloured
paper.
Most pictures are hard to get hold of so bullet points or numbers may help
most of us.
Useful websites that could help you make information accessible to people's
needs and wants.
WWW.plainenglish.co.uk www.mencap.org.uk www.officefordisability.gov.uk thesaurus.com dictionary.com. (I know it's not always easy or possible but
please try to make words as short as you can thank you.)
Most people in Wolverhampton have told us that they find photographs easier
to understand than pictures and symbols, which should be your nouns people,
places and objects.
Sent information out in at least four weeks before appointments and meeting
so people can be ready in plenty of time. This will give people time to
understand information and ask for help if they need to.
Think about using a symbol or statement at the end of your information so
people can get help to understand the information, if they need it.
You can't always suit people's needs when you are typing information for
them but you can support them to read or and understand the information you
write but please do your best to make it as easy as possible for people to read
and understand, thank you.
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