Paper that explores what people with learning disabilities and their families have to say about getting older, their experiences and feelings, and what is most important to them in later life.
Cally Ward gathered views from a range of people with learning disabilities, who often have high levels of unmet health needs as a result of the inequalities they have experienced in the health system.
Contributors talk about:
- Coming to later life with their own unique life experiences and hopes and fears for the future.
- The work of the Growing Older with a Learning Disability (GOLD) group and older families from the Sharing Caring Project.
- Valuing the opportunity to speak for themselves, having someone spend time with them and listen to what they had to say. This is especially difficult if people have communication difficulties.
- The fact that independence has brought new risks - people with learning disabilities are often exposed to bullying and hate crime