A collection of social media cards helping people use appropriate language when talking about Down’s syndrome, have now been released in Welsh. New mum Becca designed the cards to help share with people the terminology she would like to see used when talking about her one-year-old son Arthur. We launched them via our website back […]
We give a cautious welcome to today’s announcement that the Government seeks to achieve the integration of health and social care. (NHS shake-up ‘to cut bureaucracy and improve care’ – BBC News) Like so many, we have long anticipated a Health and Care White Paper (postponed by successive Governments). In the period ahead, we will […]
Last year, the Down’s Syndrome Association (DSA) was contacted by Rotherham Organisation for Down Syndrome (RODS) as one of their members, who was from Albania, was being threatened with deportation. Arben and his family had come to the UK from Albania following threats to their lives after their son Amar was born with Down’s syndrome. […]
The Down’s Syndrome Association (DSA) was delighted to hear about the successful High Court ruling against Norfolk County Council’s discriminatory charging policy, which forced adults with learning disabilities to pay more than they could reasonably afford towards the cost of their care. The ruling, which was brought about by the mother of a young person […]
People on the clinically extremely vulnerable list in England have today received further guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care on keeping safe as the country introduces new national restrictions from Thursday. Yesterday (3 November), it was announced that adults (18+) who have Down’s syndrome have been added to the list of people […]
In March, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government announced an emergency increase of £20 a week for both Universal Credit and Working Tax Credits. However, the same increase was not extended to other ‘legacy’ benefits, such as Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), leaving many disabled people without this urgently-needed support. The DSA would […]
A young woman who has Down’s syndrome will have her landmark case heard by the High Court as she challenges what she calls the ‘discrimination’ in the current abortion law, which allows a foetus to be aborted up to birth if it has Down’s syndrome. Heidi Crowter, 24, has called for a judicial review to […]
All of us at the DSA were very concerned to read the Care Quality Commission report (published on 2 June) that demonstrates a significant increase in the deaths of people with a learning disability from coronavirus (COVID-19). The analysis shows there has been a 134% increase in the number of death notifications this year compared […]
The government has announced it will pilot and roll out mandatory learning disability training for all relevant NHS healthcare professionals. It comes in response to campaigning from ourselves and thousands of others following grave concerns about the widely recognised health inequalities experienced by individuals with a learning disability. Read the ‘Right to be heard’ report […]
The Education Committee has today published the report of its inquiry into special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). They have concluded that this generation is being let down by the current system, and that parents are facing a “titanic struggle” to find the right help and support. We contributed to the Special Education Consortium’s submission, […]
