To love and be loved
Examples of rights-based action
Supported Loving – Choice Support
Supported Loving is a human rights-based campaign and a national network, hosted by Choice Support. They believe people with learning disabilities and autistic people should be able to enjoy the same sexual and romantic freedoms as everyone else.
They have produced a toolkit of guides, a range of other resources, blogs and webinars that aim to improve support around relationships and sex for adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults.
The U-Night Group
The Group is a Community Interest Company based in Lancashire who work to improve opportunities for people with a learning disability to experience friendships, relationships and community connections.
They create and deliver courses and learning materials for self -advocates, staff, family members and universal services.
For example they made this ‘Friendship Matters’ resource pack for people with a learning disability and/or autism and their supporters.
Taking action in Lancashire – The Lancashire Friends and Relationships Group
The Lancashire Friends and Relationships Group were really pleased to hear about Good Lives and were especially interested in ‘to love and be loved’ chapter.
They looked at it’s suggestions and thought about how they could support the framework in Lancashire. This report explains the actions that they thought about for ‘to love and be loved’.
Maternity Passport – Alexis Quinn
Alexis Quinn has developed this free maternity passport that expecting mums who are autistic or have a learning disability can use.
It gives healthcare professionals lots of information about them, what reasonable adjustments they can make and how to help them in different situations.
‘My Rights’ Charter – Supported Loving, NDTi, MLMC and the Tizard Centre
These groups did some research looking at relationships for people with learning disabilities.
They found that many people did not know their rights around sex and
relationships so they made this charter to help people understand.
Sexual Health Interactive Booklets – My Life My Choice
For sexual health week the Young Champions at My Life My Choice created three easy-read resources.
These include the topic of consent, your body and sex.
‘Helping Each Other’ Resources – ARC England
Helping Each Other was an ARC three year project training twelve young people with learning disabilities, who have experienced sexual exploitation, to become peer trainers. It then supported them to deliver awareness sessions to other young people with learning disabilities.
As part of the project, materials were developed that can be used to raise awareness about sexual exploitation with more young people with learning disabilities.
Research and evidence in this area
The importance of romantic love to people with learning disabilities
Claire Bates, Louise Terry and Keith Popple