Mencap Cymru is the leading charity working with children and adults with a learning disability, their families and carers in Wales.

About 1.5 million people in the UK have a learning disability. In Wales, there are over 60,000 people with a learning disability, of which only 13,000 are known to local social services departments. However this figure is increasing because people with a learning disability are living longer and doctors are better at saving babies with severe disabilities.

What is a learning disability?

A learning disability affects someone’s intellectual and social development throughout their life. This means that someone with a learning disability finds it harder than bother people to learn, understand and communicate.

It used to be called a mental handicap but this term isn’t used anymore because most people with a learning disability find it offensive.

Learning disabilities can be mild, moderate severe or profound and can often be coupled with physical disabilities. It is not a mental illness and is not dyslexia. The causes of many learning disabilities are unknown, but the best-known example is Down’s syndrome.

Some Facts

• 9 out of 10 people with a learning disability are bullied on a regular basis.
  
  
• Only 1 in 10 people with a learning disability have a job compared to 1 in 2          for disabled people generally.
  
  
• 1 in 2 families who have a child with a learning disability lives in poverty.

To find out more about Mencap Cymru please visit the website.