NEW
No-one is too disabled to have an eye test
Friday, 27th September 2019
10.00 – 11.00
If you think people have to be able to read or speak to have a sight test – or you think people with learning disabilities can never be prescribed glasses – join us to become Eye Care Aware and find out why the myths around communication and eye care are being busted by our eye care team!
Lisa Donaldson
Lisa Donaldson is SeeAbility’s Head of Eye Health and is an optometrist with a special interest in paediatrics and learning disabilities. Lisa leads the SeeAbility team providing sight tests to children in special schools.
Scott Watkin
Scott Watkin BEM is SeeAbility’s Head of Engagement is very well known in the social care sector and has good links with many learning disability organisations. He has living experience of learning disabilities and sight problems.
Aylee Richmond
Aylee Richmond is a Senior Eye Care Advisor at SeeAbility. She is a qualified Vision Rehabilitation Worker and helps people to make the best use of their available vision.
Webinar: The Love Project – Exploring support for people with Learning Disabilities to find loving relationships.
Click here to view the webinar:
It will look at findings from the perspective of people with learning disabilities, support staff and family members. It will look at the barriers people face in developing relationships and discussions around how they can be addressed.
Dr Claire Bates is the founder of the National Supported Loving Network which promotes good practice around sexuality and relationships for people with learning disabilities and autism.
Claire is also a researcher at the University of Kent’s Tizard Centre and conducts research in areas such as sexuality and relationships for people with learning disabilities.
United Pride Friends: Being Out, Proud and Autistic
Friday, 21st June 2019
10.00 – 11.00
A new group for members of the LGBT Community with Autism and Learning Difficulties, United Pride Friends, has been set up in the North West.
The primary purpose of our group is to provide a befriending service, giving members a safe place to meet new people and make friends.
The group aims to build the confidence of its members through workshops and social events, as well as providing educational sessions where we will discuss topics that affect this community such as safe sex, dealing with homophobia and ableism, and coming out to friends and family.
This webinar will talk about what United Pride Friends is, what it does and why it was set up. There will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end.
Our presenter
| Michael Chick |
Michael Chick came up with the idea of starting the group. He is a gay man from Wigan in the North West of England and founder of United Pride Friends.
Michael found that although there are service for LGBT people available, there are little to none for those who are LGBT with autism. He faced other issues due to being autistic with learning difficulties, such as homophobia and discrimination both in the private and public care sectors.
Michael wanted to challenge this discrimination so set up United Pride Friends.
Gig Buddies – serious fun – Delivering serious outcomes for people with learning disabilities doesn’t need to be dull!
Friday, April 26th 2019
10.00 – 11.00
Stay Up Late’s Gig Buddies project matches people with learning disabilities with a volunteer who shares the same cultural interests to help people build stronger informal support networks and make new friendships.
In this session Paul will explain how it works, and how it’s delivering some ‘serious outcomes’ for people in a way that doesn’t feel at all serious, in fact it feels like an awful lot of fun!
Paul is a founder, and the director of the charity Stay Up Late. The charity grew out of the experiences of the punk band ‘Heavy Load’ that he played bass with for 15 years. Heavy Load were also the subjects of the feature length documentary movie of the same names (which Mark Kermode rates as one of the top 5 music documentaries of the 21st century!).
Stay Up Late also pioneered Gig Buddies, the innovative volunteer befriending project which relieves social isolation through a shared love of the same cultural activities. The model is now being shared across the UK (and Australia).
Paul previously worked as the registered manager of a group home for people with learning disabilities and was the Involvement Manager’ for Southdown Housing Association. More recently he was the National Co-production Adviser for Think Local Act Personal.
Paul’s passion is ending inequality for people with learning disabilities and when he’s not working he can be found spending too much money in record shops or walking on the South Downs with his family. He has 4 kids and a dog and lives in Hove.
His catch phrase is ‘Keep It Punk!’
No HOLDs Barred – everything you ever wanted to know about Home Ownership for people with Long-term Disabilities (HOLD)
Friday, March 22 2019
To see the recorded session of this webinar please click here
Although it’s been around since 1997, helping significant numbers of individuals with a wide range of different disabilities to buy homes of their own, many people still think HOLD’s too good to be true.
So LDE members MySafeHome Limited (who support people who want to buy a home using HOLD) are inviting any questions about this unique Government approved homeownership model that their Managing Director, David Abbey (himself a member of LDE’s Representative Body) will answer in a live webinar.
Whatever you want to know about HOLD this is your chance to find out, in fact, the tougher and more in-depth the questions the better!
PS: Completely new to HOLD? Visit www.mysafehome.info to find out more or click here to view last year’s introduction to HOLD webinar.
David Abbey has worked in the financial services sector since 1984 and is a fully qualified Financial Adviser.Back in 1997, he was invited to join a ‘steering group’ to develop a process to enable people with a disability (who also rely on benefits for their income) to buy a home of their own. The result was a unique Government approved shared ownership model, known as HOLD (Home Ownership for people with Long-term Disabilities).
David then established MySafeHome Limited to provide everyone involved in helping people with disabilities realise their dream of home ownership with the support they need and to date almost 1,300 individuals have used HOLD to buy their own home.
Passionate about the personalisation agenda David is the UK’s subject matter expert in homeownership for people with disabilities and in July 2017 was honoured to be elected to the LDE Representative Body.
“It’s MY Life” – Self-Advocacy for people with Learning Disabilities
19th June 2018
We all know that people with learning disabilities should be more involved in planning the services they use; they should have the right to speak up for themselves and be involved in making decisions that affect them. But how do we ensure that their voices are heard?
The purpose of this webinar is to share ideas and discuss the importance of self-advocacy. We will focus on how people with learning disabilities are supported to get their voices heard, feel respected and get the best outcomes. We will give an overview of the tools and opportunities we have adopted and how self-advocacy training has empowered people with a learning disability to speak up for themselves. This webinar will be co-led by SPICE Self-Advocates Daniel and Maz who will share their stories and inspire others.
This webinar will be useful to self advocates, service providers, commissioners, parents, carers and anyone else who is committed to supporting self-advocacy.
Presented by:
Daniel Docherty is a self-advocate and founding member of SPICE. He has over 25 years’ experience of setting up self-advocacy groups including Manchester People First. He delivers training to professionals, social work students, and to other people with learning disabilities. He works hard to advocate for people with learning disabilities to have the same rights as everyone else.
Maz Tweedy is a self-advocate and member of SPICE. She uses her personal experiences and first-hand knowledge to make a positive difference and inspire change. She provides training, is part of a quality checking group and sits on several learning disability groups throughout Greater Manchester.
Kim Barrett is the Personalisation Lead at Future Directions CIC. She works closely with individuals, families and support teams to enable people to reach their dreams, wishes and aspirations. She drives all aspects of the personalisation agenda forward and delivers self-advocacy training.
Jenny Neville is a Project Manager who works closely with SPICE which is a self-advocacy group made up of people supported by Future Directions CIC. She supports SPICE to develop their skills and confidence. She empowers them to campaign for greater rights, choice and control and to have a voice, challenge stereotypes and make a positive difference to the lives of all people with learning disabilities.
Transgender support for adults with learning disabilities and/or autism
18th May 2018
People with learning disabilities and/or autism, may be considering a transition from the gender they grew up with, to a gender role they feel more comfortable with. Indeed, the person may have made this transition. As it is the case with the general population, people with learning disabilities may be exposed to discrimination, abuse, ignorance and also faced with practical and emotional stresses linked with everyday life in their new gender identity.
The Webinar will focus on how people with learning disabilities and/or autism are supported to navigate these practical and emotional difficulties and signpost to networks that may benefit and support people further. The Webinar will also consider the accessibility of information and support to this group.
Michael Fullerton, Director of Quality and Clinical Care in CMG will present this Webinar. Michael is a registered learning disability nurse and works individually with a number of people with learning disabilities and autism to support their sexual and gender identity. Michael, as a learning disability nurse, has a unique position of working in a clinical role within a learning disability provider organisation. As CMG support over 900 people, Michael is able to offer support to a significant number of people, including in relation to relationships and sexuality.
Michael has witnessed an increasing number of people who are trans men or trans women, or are confused, haven’t ‘come out’ and the psychological impact of the stress and distress for people can be immense. Michael is therefore keen to ensure the support people receive from CMG and other networks is as responsive as possible to assist people to feel comfortable with their gender identity and choices and just be able to get on with their lives.
Michael has received training via the Family Planning Association to educate people with learning disabilities in relation to sexuality and has been gaining knowledge and inspiration about supporting transgender from the Clare Project in Brighton, a mainstream Transgender Support group.
Webinar: HOLD the future in your hands – Home ownership for people with disabilities
28th December 2017
The webinar will give you an overview of the unique Government approved home ownership model known as HOLD (Home Ownership for people with Long-term Disabilities).
David will cover eligibility, how it works and the range of benefits to the buyer, their family, Local Authorities/Clinical Commissioning Groups and the country as a whole! We’re also hoping to be joined by a parent of someone who’s already bought a home of their own using HOLD to explain just what a difference it’s made to all their lives.
Presented by:
David Abbey has worked in the financial services sector since 1984 and is a fully qualified Financial Adviser. Back in 1997 he was invited to join a ‘steering group’ to develop a process to enable people with a disability (who also rely on benefits for their income) to buy a home of their own. The result was a unique Government approved shared ownership model, known as HOLD (Home Ownership for people with Long-term Disabilities).
David then established MySafeHome Limited to provide everyone involved in helping people with disabilities realise their dream of home ownership with the support they need and to date, almost 1,300 individuals have used HOLD to buy their own home. Passionate about the personalisation agenda David is the UK’s subject matter expert in home ownership for people with disabilities and in July 2017 was honoured to be elected to the LDE Representative Body.
Susan and John Kirkman are parents of a severely autistic son, who is living happily in his own home, with 24:7 1:1 support thanks to My Safe Home. We are both ex-teachers and by chance taught at a school with an autistic resource. The very first pupils were attached to our forms!
We are passionate about the rights of those with autism and/or a learning disability to live a life comparable with those of their peers, in terms of activities, access to learning and how and where they live and with whom. Choice is fundamental to a happy, stable and fulfilling life.
For more information about My Safe Home visit: http://www.mysafehome.info/