Learning Disability Week 2025

Learning Disability Week raises awareness and understanding of learning disabilities, highlights the achievements of individuals with a learning disability, and challenges the barriers they face.

This year's theme – “Do you see me?” - emphasises the importance of recognising, valuing, and including people with learning disabilities. Let’s celebrate the amazing and varied contributions that people with a learning disability bring to society!

This week, we spoke to Sally Parker, a member of BASW’s Experts by Experience Forum, and her son, Daniel, who has a learning disability and autism, to hear their reflections on the importance of Learning Disability Week 2025. 

Daniel, who is a Creative Media Student at Queen Alexandra College, is an avid film enthusiast (he likes all genres!) and enjoys being part of the Open Theatre, which runs a wide range of creative arts projects and programmes to support young people with learning disabilities to play an active role in the creative industry and beyond. Below are some photos from the festival Daniel is taking part in this week with the Open Theatre, underlining the importance of this year's Learning Disability Week theme.

Daniel is also an active member of the Special Olympics West Midlands Ski Group. He was too modest to tell us that he competed in the Special Olympics GB’s first National Winter Games held in Italy, where he won a gold medal, but we did some googling, and his successes weren’t difficult to find!

“Every day I am taught how to think differently, do things differently, and question why I am doing things in a way that we all just do. My eyes are opened to the endless possibilities and the potential that those with learning disabilities (and indeed everyone) have.

“The frustration is the systems are not always built to enable or empower individuals with learning disabilities. Individuals and families have to fight and challenge for support and basic rights, which often takes its toll. In some cases, the professionals feel as helpless as we do.

“Systems and processes that are exclusionary leads to misconceptions, stereotypes and a lack of awareness. Some choose not to understand, some have a limited outlook, and others who through their words or actions disenable and devalue someone’s worth.

“Thankfully, my son’s journey into adulthood has been positively impacted by those who saw HIM. They saw his abilities, his skills, his personality, and his aspirations. Most professionals, whether social workers, Health Visitors, SEND Departments, inclusive groups, Support Workers or Educators, have been incredibly helpful. They supported him and our family to help him to be the best he can be and to be happy. 

“Let’s celebrate individuals for who they are and not what they are diagnosed with!”

We all have a duty to abolish stereotypes

Daniel added that taking the time to understand someone for who they are, what their interests and hobbies are, what their goals and ambitions in life are, goes such a long way to making them feel valued and included.

Simple acts of listening, asking questions and making a connection are so important. It then allows you to see the person first and foremost.

Daniel also wanted to highlight that harmful stereotypes do still sadly exist in society, and this can have a lot of adverse effects on an individual, including their confidence, self-belief and wellbeing. We need to acknowledge this problem if we want to tackle it.

He issued a call to everyone reading this to do their bit to abolish these stereotypes, through our conversations, our words, and our actions. Not just this week, but all year round.

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• Learning Disability Week runs from 16th – 22nd June 2025. More information can be found on Mencap’s website here.