Learning Disability Wales

Celebrating Carers Week
Carers want more support and to be valued more...
Katie Cooke of Measuring the Mountain project worked with people and organisations across Wales to gather 473 stories about people’s experiences of social care. Depressingly 75% of experiences shared by carers were negative, compared to 44% shared by people in receipt of care or support.
... Read Katie's blog to hear people's views what more needs to be done.
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Celebrating #CarersWeek Carers Week
Mel is Anna's mum. She tells us how delighted she is for her daughter in getting a job with valuable support from Engage to Change and ELITE Supported Employment.

Let us celebrate #CarersWeek
Carers Week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges unpaid carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK.
There are 370,000 carers across Wales providing 96% of care.
... Check out what is happening near you.
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At our event, Support for living in the 21st century, we have organisations speaking about their personalised and tailored approaches to implement Personalised Technology into the day to day lives of people with a learning disability.
This event will be held in Swansea on 3 July from 10 am to 12.30 pm. To book your place please visit our website www.ldw.org.uk or email inacia.rodrigues@ldw.org.uk

This event will be held in Swansea, Wednesday, 3 July from 10:00 to 12:30. Tickets from £15
Our Support for living in the 21st century event will Showcase technology's role in choice, control and independence for people with a learning disability.
Technologies can offer benefits for people who need support
... To live a healthy and safe life Keep in touch with others Help around the home To communicate better
This event is for anyone involved in providing or commissioning support services for people with a learning disability as well as people with a learning disability and parent and carers.
To book your place, please click on the link below. For more information, you can email inacia.rodrigues@ldw.org.uk
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Earlier this year Welsh Government ran a consultation to ask your views on how they should help people who are lonely and find it hard to meet people. They have written a report about what people said and you can now get an easy read version of this report by clicking the link below.
We worked with Welsh Government to write all the easy read versions for this consultation. If you have any feedback about them we would love to hear it. You can e-mail us at easyread@ldw.org.uk, call us on 029 2068 1160 (Ask for the easy read team) or comment below.

Disabled activists from across Europe have called for the closure of long-stay institutions, after the latest in a long series of abuse scandals was uncovered by the BBC.

There's lots of useful news and resources in the latest issue of Llais Update.
https://mailchi.mp/ldw.org.uk/llais-updat e-may-2019
Read this issue for news about:
... 📣 Our response to BBC Panorama’s undercover investigation into Whorlton Hall.
📣 Free training and easy read guide about assessment and care planning.
📣 Support for living in the 21st Century - technology event, Swansea, 3 July.
📣 Engage to Change: Wrexham Roadshow, 17 June.
📣 Right Here, Learning Disability Wales Annual Conference 2019. Newport, 6 November; Llanrwst, 14 November.
📣 New All Wales Forum of Parents and Carers. - AWF film helps parents and carers to understand their rights under the Social Services and Well-being Act.
📣 New report finds women with a learning disability risk being drawn into criminal justice system.
📣 Mental Health Awareness Week: Resources for people with a learning disability.
📣 And lots more.
https://mailchi.mp/ldw.org.uk/llais-updat e-may-2019
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Mae yna lawer o newyddion ac adnoddau defnyddiol yn y rhifyn diweddaraf o Llais Update.
https://mailchi.mp/ldw.org.uk/llais-updat e-may-1214485…
Darllenwch y rhifyn hwn ar-lein am newyddion am:
📣 Ein hymateb i ymchwiliad cudd rhaglen Panorama'r BBC i Whorlton Hall.
📣 Hyfforddiant am ddim a chanllaw hawdd ei ddarllen am asesu a chynllunio gofal.
📣 Cymorth i fyw yn yr 21ain Ganrif - digwyddiad technoleg, Abertawe, 3 Gorffennaf.
📣 Engage to Change: Sioe Deithiol Wrecsam, 17 Mehefin.
📣 Dwi Yma, Cynhadledd Flynyddol Anabledd Dysgu Cymru 2019. Casnewydd, 6 Tachwedd; Llanrwst, 14 Tachwedd.
📣 Ffilm newydd yn helpu rhieni a gofalwyr i ddeall eu hawliau o dan y Ddeddf Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol a Llesiant.
📣 Adroddiad newydd yn canfod bod menywod ag anabledd dysgu mewn perygl o gael eu tynnu i mewn i'r system cyfiawnder troseddol.
📣 Wythnos Ymwybyddiaeth Iechyd Meddwl: Adnoddau ar gyfer pobl ag anabledd dysgu.
📣 A llawer mwy.
https://mailchi.mp/ldw.org.uk/llais-updat e-may-1214485…
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Cwtch Together is a disability play project in Grangetown, Cardiff, promoting inclusive play for disabled children and their families.
It runs every Saturday, 10am-4pm, at Grangetown Nursery Community Centre, Ferry Road, Cardiff, CF11 0XR.
Summer events:
... >> 8th June - making keyrings >> 15th June - making father's day cards and cakes >> 22nd June - water session (weather permitting) water slides, pool, spray bottles >> 29th June - pre-summer bbq and bouncy castle >> 6th July - messy fun playdough, goop, sand and water play >> 13th July - summer fete, face painting >> 20th July - summer bbq, bouncy castle >> 27th July - sports day
Entry is only £1. Qualified play workers are able to facilitate play and encourage social skills in a safe and secure indoor and outdoor environment.
Fore more information get in touch with Cwtch Together on their Facebook page.
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Brilliant animated video by Beth Richards and The Misfits Theatre Company CIO and the Getting Things Changed team at University of Bristol, explaining why we dislike jargon and how important #EasyRead and the right support is.
The video is about making auditions accessible for actors with a learning disability, but very helpful for all areas of life.
https://vimeo.com/332699002/15ccf0d91d
... Hijinx Theatre are campaigning on this, and challenging the television and film industry to produce a learning disabled Oscar winner by 2030.
To help the screen industry achieve this, they have produced recommendations for casting actors with a learning disability and autism. Find out more at: https://www.ldw.org.uk/hijinx-7-recommend ations-for-casting/
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Almost two thirds practitioners responding to a Community Care survey said they had seen cuts to care packages that had increased people’s social isolation, over the past two years, with half of this group saying the cuts had been driven by financial pressures rather than changes in need or commissioning practice.

What a great way to kick off #VolunteersWeek - say hello to our newest Gig Buddies!
Do you struggle to get out and do the things you love? If you are an adult with a learning disability living in Cardiff we can find a Gig Buddy for you.
Gigs can be concerts and festivals, but they can be anything you love doing. Your Gig Buddy could be a Football Buddy, a Bowling Buddy, a Rambling Buddy, a Quiz Buddy, a Museum Buddy, a Roller Skating Buddy, a Surfing Buddy..... you tell us wh...at you love to do, and we'll find you a Gig Buddy.
Ffrindiau Gigiau Caerdydd / Gig Buddies Cardiff is looking for both participants and volunteers who would like to be a Gig Buddy. Get in touch to find out more!
👩‍🎤💥 👨‍🎤💥
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Thank you to our Engage to Change volunteers who give their time to help us support young people in Wales with learning disabilities and/or autism into employment.
During #VolunteersWeek project partners ELITE Supported Employment are celebrating their contributions - meet Lorence!
Diolch i'n gwirfoddolwyr #EngageToChange sy'n rhoi eu hamser i'n helpu ni i gefnogi pobl ifanc yng Nghymru gydag anableddau dysgu ac/neu awtistiaeth mewn i gyflogaeth.
... Yn ystod #WythnosGwirfoddolwyr mae partneriaid y prosiect ELITE Supported Employment yn dathlu eu cyfraniadau - dyma Lorence!
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"I will never be able to forget hearing the screams from the young woman, Alex, as she was tortured by the male staff at Whorlton Hall. With each scream, I could feel her pain. I cried myself to sleep after watching the programme because I know that what I saw was not an isolated incident".
Ciara Lawrence, Campaigns Support Officer at Mencap, reports on the vicious abuse that was uncovered by Panorama at Whorlton Hall, and calls on the UK Government to "stop the talking and just get on with closing these hospitals down."

More than 130,000 deaths in the UK since 2012 could have been prevented if improvements in public health policy had not stalled as a direct result of austerity cuts, according to a hard-hitting analysis to be published this week.
The report is concerned with preventable diseases or disorders such as heart disease, lung cancer or liver problems, which can be caused by unhealthy lifestyles and habits, formed often at a young age. It finds evidence of disturbing reductions in physical activity in schools and chronic underfunding of health visitors.

We have been helping to get our trainers prepared to deliver our What matters to me - Assessment and Care Planning training to people with a learning disability. We were with Meinir and Karen today at @Pembrokeshire People First.
To download the free easy read guide and request the training: https://www.ldw.org.uk/what-matters-to-me -free-3-hour-trai…/