Skip to content
Skip to main content

About this free course

Download this course

Share this free course

Exploring learning disabilities: supporting belonging
Exploring learning disabilities: supporting belonging

Start this free course now. Just create an account and sign in. Enrol and complete the course for a free statement of participation or digital badge if available.

Session 3: Families

Introduction

This week you will be thinking about the families of people with learning disabilities.

Download this video clip.Video player: Video 1
Copy this transcript to the clipboard
Print this transcript
Show transcript|Hide transcript
Video 1
Interactive feature not available in single page view (see it in standard view).

Families have always been the mainstay of care for people with learning disabilities. In 2015, over 44,000 of the people identified as having a learning disability in England were living with families – 36% of the total. In Wales, the figure was 53% (2018), in Scotland somewhat lower, at 30%.

Whether people stay in the family home, leave it to live independently, or are supported by paid staff, families play an exceptionally important role in the lives of many people with learning disabilities.

In this session you will explore:

  • how family carers and paid support workers can work together
  • why people with learning disabilities and their families may feel excluded from mainstream society
  • the family dynamics when an adult with a learning disability continues to live with parents well into adulthood.