tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808876581269387948.post4073754646415999212..comments2024-03-20T07:01:40.016-07:00Comments on Mark Frankland: WHAT LORD FREUD SAID ABOUT DISABLED PEOPLE WAS STUPID AND IDIOTIC. THE WAY HIS WORDS HAVE BEEN TWISTED SHOWS POLITICS AT ITS MOST PATHETIC AND TAWDRY Mark Franklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11571870613067854481noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808876581269387948.post-40221291807687088062014-10-16T04:17:41.556-07:002014-10-16T04:17:41.556-07:00Interesting post, as usual. I only half caught thi...Interesting post, as usual. I only half caught this, so it's good to have some background. One point though, your definition of 'severe' learning difficulties seems a bit astray in my experience. I worked with adults with 'moderate' learning disabilities and none of them would be allowed to get their own money out of a cash point. And none of them had jobs. maybe some on the mild side of moderate would get volunteer work, but none of them would be considered for paid work. And when one gets to 'severe' learning disabilities, I found it hard to get such people 'released' from activity/resource centres to participate in our activities at all - risk assessments blah de blah... 'such people' are pretty much institutionalised or as you say, stuck at home but as they (from moderate onwards) are usually considered 'with mental incapacity' that basically means that someone else IS in charge of their money. And what that money can be spent on is very tightly controlled. Yes, they are subject to the most incredible levels of risk (from those supposedly responsible for taking care of them as much as anyone else - the scope to abuse them financially seems to be almost endemic and will only get worse with personal payments, since these moderate/severe learning disabled adults will NOT get any real say over how their money is spent.) But there is so much more that could be done - I spent 10 years trying to provide an 'alternative' to work which could have become a 'work' environment for them in advocacy and drama, and guess what, it was made virtually impossible to achieve. So they lose out every way. All the examples you give are of people I've come across 'labelled' as 'mild' learning disabilities - their lot is ,as you say, bloody appalling, but I have to say that for those with the label moderate/severe never mind profound and multiple learning disabilities, the system doesn't even begin to look to their needs - and the thought of a job? Forget it. Yet lots of these people have skills that COULD be utilised and if so, of course they should be paid something for their work. Though, in a way, I think that a route which offsets benefits against work would be good, if it could be properly administered and was truly person centred rather than to do with balancing books. All the adults I knew had a sense of pride when they thought that their drama was their 'work' and their benefits were what they got instead of wages in their hand for doing this 'work.' There are many ways round this problem, but the difficulty is that people with learning disabilities (even more so than those with physical disabilities) are not viewed by most 'normal' people as valuable members of society - or even people. and their worth is about a lot more than how many £££ per hour they should get one way or the other. Conclusion? The whole social policy idea needs a bloody good shake up. We need a whole new approach to social justice. Independence anyone? Oh no, that options out the window... so what hope is there for the vulnerable in society now, fighting against a system which is not only not fit for purpose but doesn't view them as 'part' of society, just part of a problem for society! Rant over CallyPhillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15481379296340077102noreply@blogger.com