Exploring learning disabilities: supporting belonging

Do you have experience of learning disabilities? Perhaps you have been assessed as having a learning disability yourself, or have a friend or relative who has this label? Maybe you work with people with learning disabilities. Or perhaps it’s somethingyou know little about, and want to know more.In this free course, Exploring learning disabilities: supporting belonging, you will hear from many different people about what it is like to have the label ‘learning disability’, and how it feels to support someone with a learning disability, as a family member, a friend, an advocate or a paid worker. These human stories will lead you into some of the complex moral, ethical and practical debates learning disability gives rise to.Transcript355This course is endorsed by Learning Disability England.Enrolling on the course will give you the opportunity to earn an Open University digital badge. Badges are not accredited by The Open University but they're a great way to demonstrate your interest in the subject and commitment to your career and to provide evidence of continuing professional development.Once you are signed in, you can manage your digital badges online from My OpenLearn. In addition, you can download and print your OpenLearn statement of participation – which also displays your Open University badge.This course is accredited by the CPD Standards Office.It can be used to provide evidence of continuing professional development andon successful completion of the course you will be awarded 24 CPD points.Evidence of your CPD achievement is provided on the free Statement ofParticipation awarded on completion.Please tell us more about your Continuous ProfessionalDevelopment (CPD) and personal skill development!We would really appreciate a few minutes of your time tocomplete this survey andtell us about yourself and your experiences of CPD and lifelong learning.The Open University is working in collaboration with the CPDStandards Office in a national study to understand more about individualprofessionals' experiences, perceptions, and practice for adult skilldevelopment. Find out more here cpdstandards.com/research.By participating in this high-profile research, you will becontributing to scientific knowledge about adult skill development and how wecan develop successful future careers. Participation is confidential, voluntaryand we will not pass on your details to others.

• Introduction and guidance
• Introduction and guidance
• What is a badged course?
• How to get a badge
• Acknowledgements
• Session1Session 1: What is a learning disability?
• Introduction
• 1 Being labelled
• 2 What is a learning disability?
• 2.1 Learning disability categories
• 3 Medical or social?
• 4 Listening to people who do not use words to communicate
• 4.1 Improving the lives of people with severe or profound learning disabilities
• 5 How many people have a learning disability?
• 6 Where do people with learning disabilities live?
• 7 To label or not to label
• 8 Human rights
• 8.1 Challenges to upholding rights
• 9 This session's quiz
• 10 Summary of Session 1
• Want to know more?
• References
• Acknowledgements
• Session2Session 2: History: different approaches to learning disability over time
• Introduction
• 1 From the 1700s to the mid-twentieth century
• 2 The institutions
• 2.1 The geography of institutions
• 2.2 Life in an institution
• 2.3 Life in St Lawrence's hospital
• 3 Life in the community
• 4 The late twentieth and early twenty-first century - things getting better
• 4.1 A changing policy landscape
• 5 The present
• 6 This session's quiz
• 7 Summary of Session 2
• Want to know more?
• Acknowledgements
• Session3Session 3: Families
• Introduction
• 1 Family experiences
• 2 Disabled by association
• 2.1 Living different lives
• 3 Change and no change for families
• 4 Family advocacy and family carers
• 4.1 An ongoing responsibility
• 5 Choice and conflict
• 5.1 Families, culture and support
• 5.2 Getting the communication right
• 5.3 Living with my family
• 6 This session's quiz
• 7 Summary of Session 3
• Want to know more?
• References
• Acknowledgements
• Session4Session 4: Education
• Introduction
• 1 From ‘ineducable’ to ‘included’
• 1.1 Separate or together?
• 2 The role of special education
• 2.1 Attending a special school
• 2.2 Working in a special school
• 3 Inclusive education in practice
• 4 Challenges and benefits of delivering inclusive education
• 5 This session’s quiz
• 6 Summary of Session 4
• Want to know more?
• References
• Acknowledgements
• Session5Session 5: Work and employment
• Introduction
• 1 The importance of work
• 2 Finding a job
• 3 Having a job
• 3.1 Included exclusion
• 3.2 Making reasonable adjustments: making time
• 4 Supporting people into work
• 5 Working with other people with learning disabilities
• 6 The impact of getting a job
• 7 This session's quiz
• 8 Summary of Session 5
• Want to know more?
• References
• Acknowledgements
• Session6Session 6: Health and wellbeing
• Introduction
• 1 What are some of the health risks?
• 2 As independent as possible?
• 2.1 The right to choose
• 3 Healthcare
• 3.1 The shortcomings of healthcare
• 4 Reasonable adjustments
• 5 Unnecessary deaths
• 6 When things go well
• 7 Isolation, loneliness and ill health
• 7.1 Improving health and wellbeing
• 8 This session's quiz
• 9 Summary of Session 6
• Want to know more?
• References
• Acknowledgements
• Session7Session 7: Relationships
• Introduction
• 1 Caring relationships
• 1.1 Caring in intimate relationships
• 1.2 Parents with learning disabilities
• 2 Making friends
• 2.1 Supporting people to have friends
• 3 Romantic relationships
• 3.1 Barriers to loving relationships
• 3.2 The importance of loving relationships
• 4 Managing the risks – avoiding harmful relationships
• 4.1 Hate and mate crime
• 4.2 Safeguarding
• 5 This session’s quiz
• 6 Summary of Session 7
• Want to know more?
• References
• Acknowledgements
• Session8Session 8: Making belonging happen: rights and advocacy
• Introduction
• 1 Upholding people’s rights
• 1.1 Assessment and treatment units: the new institutions?
• 2 Self-advocacy and getting to know your rights
• 2.1 The impact of self-advocacy
• 3 Family advocacy
• 3.1 Advocating for life
• 4 Changing the system
• 4.1 The impact of austerity
• 4.2 Changing attitudes
• 5 Working with people with learning disabilities
• 6 This session’s quiz
• 7 Summary of Session 8
• Want to know more?
• Where next?
• Tell us what you think
• References
• Acknowledgements