Norman Dunning: Learning disabilities are never a bar to talent

Published on Friday 5 June 2009 09:34

'I HAD a dream my life would be so different from this hell I'm living in.' When Susan Boyle belted out that immortal line six weeks ago, her life was never going to be the same again.

Susan's story has dominated the water-cooler chat at ENABLE Scotland, as in most offices. But unlike most others, our conversations have revolved around something that, until now, has rarely been mentioned in the press: her learning disability.

It came as no surprise to us that a person with a learning disability could be talented. We know that there are thousands of people with learning disabilities in Scotland who, given the chance, could do amazing things.

But it was a pleasant surprise that her disability received so little attention. The fact that she was deprived of oxygen at birth was mentioned in passing, as was the fact that, like most children with learning disabilities, she was bullied. But it seemed reassuring that Susan had achieved what we have long campaigned for – people noticed her for what she could do, not what she couldn't.

That was until things went wrong.

Since she was admitted to hospital on Saturday, her disability is suddenly big news, as if this alone was enough to explain her hospitalisation. The confusion between learning disability and mental illness prevails. The old-fashioned label of "not right in the head" is wheeled out.

It seems that in the public consciousness, Susan Boyle's talent and success happened in spite of her learning disability, while her admission to hospital was because of it. In reality, neither is true.

There have been calls for the programme makers to ban "vulnerable" people from future shows. But a ban would be a mistake. We must not exclude the 120,000 people with learning disabilities in Scotland. They must be allowed to follow their dreams, even if there's a risk that it might go wrong.

Norman Dunning is chief executive with ENABLE Scotland, Scotland's leading charity for people with learning disabilities, www.enable.org.uk