Self-advocacy groups and Learning Disability Partnership Boards

How can The Advocacy People help?

Self-advocacy Groups: 

• Bring people together to share ideas and support each other

• Help adults with a learning disability speak up about what matters to them

• Promote and support health and wellbeing and keeping safe

• Invite speakers to talk and answer questions about topics chosen by group members 

• Speak to other groups about self-advocacy

• Are a way for people to have fun and make friends

• Can be a powerful voice to the people in charge of services about the changes they want to make in their communities 

Learning Disability Partnership Boards (LDPBs) are made up of people with learning disabilities, parents, family carers, support staff, people who supply and buy services, people from health and community services and anyone who has an interest in supporting adults with a learning disability.

LDPBs:

• ​Bring people together to talk about important issues for people with learning disabilities, and their family, friends and carers

• Make sure people who provide services make them easy to use for people with learning disabilities

• Tell services what people want, and how to make things better 

• Keep people up to date with local and national issues affecting people with learning disabilities

Where do we run Self-advocacy Groups and LDPBs? 

The Advocacy People have groups for people with learning disabilities in: 

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Bracknell Forest 

Our Self-advocacy Group is called Be Heard and meets every week. 

We also run the People Power group, which is the Learning Disability Sub-group of the Bracknell Forest LDPB and meets monthly in the Open Learning Centre. 

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Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead 

The Speaking Out group meets monthly in Maidenhead, and members attend the local LDPB online meetings every two months. 

A Hear Our Voice group is run for students at a local specialist school. 

Southampton 

The Busy People group meets at least monthly in Southampton and members attend the local LDPB meetings every three months (remotely or in-person). 

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Cornwall 

In partnership with Erya, we have monthly Peer Support Groups in West Cornwall and hope to set up more in other parts of the county. The groups are a safe and enjoyable place for people with learning disabilities to share personal stories and experiences and develop self-advocacy skills. To find out more, or if you would like us to set up a group near you, please contact our Cornwall Advocacy Co-ordinator. 

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For Deaf people in Cornwall, we have partnered with Hearing Loss Cornwall to run a weekly Peer Mentoring Group to help members of the local Deaf community overcome communication barriers and gain access to the health, mental health and community support services they need.

To find out more, contact info@hearinglosscornwall.org or phone 01872 225868.  

If you do not live in one of these places, there should be someone else who runs groups like these. 

The Advocacy People’s LDPBs take place every two months:

• ​West Berkshire – in Broadway House, Newbury 

• Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead – online

Only some areas have LDPBs.

If you do not live in West Berkshire or Windsor & Maidenhead, then you will need to ask your Local Authority if they have a LDPB.