Study reveals people with learning disabilities are ‘failed by society’
Adults and children who have learning disabilities are being let down by society, according to a study by a health inequality expert.
The University College London Institute of Health Equity, launched in 2011, aims to increase health equity by helping those more vulnerable.
Professor Sir Michael Marmot, from the Institute of Health at UCL, led the study.
He said that people with learning disabilities die 15–20 years earlier than other people, with 40% of children not being diagnosed until adulthood.
Shorter life expectancy affects approximately 1,200 children and adults with learning disabilities in the UK, the study says.
Poor housing, social isolation, bullying and low incomes are segregating people with special needs in society.
Children and adults with learning difficulties are also at higher risk of mental illness and more vulnerable to abuse, the study says.
The report revealed that 2.9% of the population are affected by learning disabilities and that 25% of young people in custody have learning disabilities.
Portsmouth has a population of 205,400 meaning roughly 5,956 people living in the city suffer from this neglect.
