Mencap launches ‘Talk to Me’ campaign to address disability misconceptions

To celebrate Mencap's 75th anniversary they have launched the ‘Talk to Me’ campaign to highlight the need for greater progression, understanding and inclusion of people with a learning disability. The campaign has a variety of ways to get involved and support the raising of awareness and understanding around learning disabilities including a video with young people with lived experience discussing what it means to them.

The campaign comes on the back of a survey carried out by Mencap which revealed that although there are 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK that two-thirds of people can’t correctly identify what it is.  The lack of visibility in the media may be part of the reason and this correlates with the lack of understanding. The charity says that the recent appearances of Tommy Jessop, who has Down’s syndrome, in Line of Duty and Mencap ambassador George Webster who recently made history when he became the first CBeebies presenter who has Down’s syndrome, are helping with this but more is needed.

Mencap ambassador George Webster commented:

“When I was younger, there wasn’t anyone with a learning disability or Down’s Syndrome on the TV. It is so important though - if people saw more people with a learning disability in the media, they would better understand what a learning disability is and they would be less scared to approach someone and talk to them. Then they could get to know them better. This would also mean people treat us better - it could improve things massively.”