Version  1  using  Boardmaker  symbols   and  more  complex  language  

Questions  to  ask  Candidates

Self-Advocacy

Self-advocacy means speaking up for yourself. 23 self advocacy projects shut down last year.This makes it harder for people to learn how to speak up for themselves.How will you help if I vote for you?

There is a law called the mental capacity act.Mental capacity law helps people to make choices. It is not used properly.People with learning disabilities don’t get choices or people choose for them.How will you help if I vote for you?

Parents with Learning Disabilities Some people with learning disabilities have children.They don’t always get the right help.Sometimes they have to give up their children.

How will you help if I vote for you?

Lots of people with learning disabilitieshave to live far from home.This makes it harder for friends andfamily to visit.Friends and family need to know theyare safe.Over 3,000 people live far from home.People in these placed might be abused.These places have still not been closed.How will you help if I vote for you?

Hate crime is when disabled people get hurt. Disabled people might be attacked or called names.It is getting worse.Powerful people need to stop hate crime.How will you help if I vote for you?

People carry out hate crime against disabled people.The criminals are not being punished.They do not always go to prison.How will you help if I vote for you?

Getting Help The cost of social care makes disabled people poorer.It makes it harder for peopleto get help. How will you help if I vote for you?

Social care is very important for disabled people.A lot of the money has been taken away.There isn’t enough money for social care.How will you help if I vote for you?

Disabled people have had cuts to the money that help them.They have had more cuts than anyone else.

People with the most needs have lost 6 times as much money as other people.How will you help if I vote for you?

People in power talk about benefit fraud a lot.This makes disabled people sound like scroungers.Tax fraud is 15 times worse than benefit fraud.But benefit fraud is talked about more.This gives disabled people a bad name.How will you help if I vote for you?

Disabled people often need a lot of support.When a person’s family supports them they often are the first to suffer from cuts.They are the first to receive social cuts.How will you help if I vote for you?

The Independent Living Fund allows people with disabilities to live at home.If this is stopped there will less help for disabled people.

This means they will not be able to live in their own homes.How will you help if I vote for you?

Disability Living Allowance coversthe extra costs that a disabled personmust pay because of their disabilities.This is to be changed into thePersonal Independence Payments.The Personal Independence Paymentsonly covers some of these costs.This change would cut disabledpeoples money by £1.5 billion.It would put more pressure on social care.How will you help if I vote for you?

The Work Capability Assessment is a test used to choose if a person can get the Employment and Support Allowance.It is bad for the health of disabled people.80% of disabled people do not feel like they have been listened to in the test.How will you help if I vote for you?

Most adults who have learning disabilities do not have jobs.Only 7% do.In this 7% most of the jobs are part time.The average rate for average people to have jobs is 73%.This is a big difference.How will you help if I vote for you?

The Housing Benefit rules have been changed.Now adults who are under 35 can only get shared housing.This means they cannot have a house of their own.This makes having a real home very difficult.How will you help if I vote for you?

Someone with a learning disability can still easily get ill.Often illness is over looked.It is put down as our learning disability instead.Doctors and nurses are not checking us for illness properly.People are dying.How will you help if I vote for you?

Everybody should have their own home.Most people with learning disabilities do not.Only 15% of people with learning disabilities have their own home.How will you help if I vote for you?

People with physical disabilities need homes to suit their needs.Most housing does not cater for them.This makes most housing out of reach for people with physical disabilities.How will you help if I vote for you?

Someone with a learning disability should be close to their family if possible.It is easy to move people with learning disabilities away from their family.It is hard to bring them back to their family.That is wrong.How will you help if I vote for you?

There are many treatments in the healthcare system.A lot of these would be good for people with learning disabilities.Often we are not allowed these.Sometimes we are given poor treatments instead.This is not fair.How will you help if I vote for you?

Annual Health Checks are important.

Action needs to be taken after these checks.Health Action Plans tell you how to keep healthy and what help you can get.More people need these.How will you help if I vote for you?

These  slides  have  been  adapted  in  an  attempt  to  support  people  with  Learning  Disabilities  to  understand  more  about  the  issues  which  have  been  raised  by  the  Learning  Disability  Alliance.  Total  Communication  is  committed  to  supporting  people  to  understand  and  also  to  speak  out  .  Easy  read  or  accessible  information  is  one  way  of    helping  to  achieve  this.    We  have  made  an  attempt  to  simplify  the  language  and  the  concepts  but  have  no  wish  to  be  precious,  if  the  images  or  wording  don’t  work  for  people  please  feel  free  to  alter  them.  There  are  2  versions  available  using  photosymbols  one  with  simpler  language  and  concepts.  And  one  where  we  have  retained  most  of  the  language  and  concepts  from  the  original  work  by  the  LDA.  This  version  has  been  made  using  Boardmaker  symbols,  some  symbols  have  been  adapted  or  created  in  an  attempt  to  convey  some  of  the  concepts.    

We  would  like  to  acknowledge  the  following  people  for  their  help  in  producing  the  materials:  Speech  and  Language  Therapy  Students  -­‐  Emma  Dixon,    Serena  Butler,  Sophie  Gordon    &  Vanessa  McGill.  Communication  Development  workers  -­‐  Amir  Uddin  and  Mark  Booth.  Peter  Le  Grys  from  Photosymbols  for  access  to  the  library  of  images.  All  of  whom  gave  up  their  own  time  to  help.  

Boardmaker  symbols:  Picture  Communication  Symbols  ©  copyright  by  Mayer-­‐Johnson  LLC.      All  Rights  Reserved  Worldwide.  Used  with  permission.  For  facts  and  figures  go  to:  http://bit.ly/wrong-­‐list      Alison  Matthews  &  Shahnaz  Ashraf  ,  Total  Communication  Organisation