The last hundred years have seen dramatic changes in the type and standard of care that those with learning disabilities or mental health problems have come to expect.

For many years, disabilities of this nature were greatly misunderstood and led to those affected being resigned to psychiatric hospitals, or ‘asylums’. The chance of a ‘normal’ life was minimal. Instead they were subjected to largely experimental forms of treatment such as electroconvulsive therapy and insulin coma treatment.

Thankfully, changes were instigated in the care and understanding of those with neurological problems due to the formation of charities such as NAMH (later to become MIND) and the introduction of drug treatment programmes.

Supported Living

Yet potentially, the biggest step occurred in 1954 when Warlingham Park Hospital in Croydon appointed the first ever outpatient nurses and began offering what is today often referred to as ‘supported living’.

The nurses’ duties included visiting outpatients and discharged patients in their own homes and helping with everyday tasks such as finding accommodation or securing a job.

This enabled those with neurological conditions to enjoy a free and independent lifestyle; it also helped reduce the severe overcrowding that psychiatric hospitals in the 40’s and 50’s were experiencing (one hospital built in 1851 to accommodate 1000 patients was housing over 2000 by 1950).

2000 and Beyond

Today, the lives of those with learning disabilities and mental health problems couldn’t be more different.

Few people are living in ‘institutionalised care’ and even those that are, are often there with a view to living independently at some point in the future.

In the 21st Century, there is little holding any neurological patient back from living a ‘normal’ and fulfilled life. There are countless people in the public eye afflicted with a wide range of conditions that, should they have been born a few decades earlier, may well have prevented them from enjoying the success they have today.

Tim Howard, previous Manchester United and current Everton goalkeeper, has Tourette’s. Geri Jewell is an American actress and comedienne with cerebral palsy. Actor Hugo Weaving and musician Neil Young both have epilepsy.

2010 saw the launch of the Erica Awards, a ceremony dedicated to celebrating inspirational people with autism and learning disabilities. This year’s winner was ‘Heavy Load’, a punk band from Brighton made up of a number of members with learning disabilities.

The band is now campaigning for the next progression in the care for people with learning disabilities; their ‘Stay up Late’ campaign is calling for supported living carers to become more flexible in their working hours, therefore increasing access to activities for adults with learning disabilities.

Online marketer Amy Fowler wrote this article on behalf of Voyage, who offer assistance with supported living and arrange activities for adults with learning disabilities.