MENCAP Myth Busters and ATLAS

How Mencap and ATLAS are making the world a better place for people with additional needs and disabilities!

What is Mencap?

Mencap is a charity in the UK that works with people who have a learning disability.

What is their goal?

Mencap want a world where people with a learning disability are valued equally, listened too and included.

This is what some of their objectives are:

We want to have made a significant and measurable improvement to people’s attitudes towards people with a learning disability.
We want to have contributed to improving the quality of life for people with a learning disability.
We want more people with a learning disability to have stronger friendships and relationships, and be better connected to their communities

If you want to read their other objectives, as well as other information about Mencap, go on to this link:

About us – What we do | Mencap

Who are the Mythbusters?

Mythbusters are a group of eighteen ambassadors who are using their platforms to tackle the stigma and lack of awareness around learning disabilities.

One of the ambassadors Jessica Jane who is a Paralympic champion and campaigner wants more people to know that just because a person does not look like they have a disability, does not mean that they don’t.

Who is ATLAS and what do they do?

ATLAS (Accept, Teach, Listen, Access, Support) is a participation group run by the User Voice and Participation team also does similar work as Mencap, by empowering children and young people (Their parents and carers involved too) with additional needs and disabilities to share their opinions about the services they use.

This is what some of their objectives are:

To raise our voices on important topics from the perspective of young people with additional needs and disabilities, living in Surrey (UK)
To provide feedback on and co-produce Surrey services for young people with additional needs and disabilities
To create a safe space for young people with additional needs and disabilities to share their experiences confidentially

If you want to read their other objectives, as well as other information about ATLAS, go on to this link:

ATLAS Aims, Priority Areas and Action Cards – ATLAS Surrey (surreyatlas.uk)

ATLAS sessions take place (Virtual and in person) on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, the location of the sessions is in Epsom and Woking.

Atlas Ambassadors

ATLAS also has ambassadors, these ambassadors help by raising the voices of all the ATLAS members and supporting with how the groups are run.

If you want to know more information about the groups, then go on to this link:

ATLAS Groups – ATLAS Surrey (surreyatlas.uk)

In order to achieve their objects, ATLAS have made selected a couple of areas that need to be prioritised, these are some of the areas that they have made a priority:

Ableism, Stigma and Discrimination

‘Able-Bodied’ should not be the goal
Power of language and attitudes
Media Representation
Need for co-production and professionals with lived experience
Self-description

Autism

Acceptance
Awareness
Emergency services
Helping professionals to understand how to work with autistic people -Co-morbidity with mental health

If you want to read about other areas that ATLAS have made a priority, then go on to this link:

ATLAS Aims, Priority Areas and Action Cards – ATLAS Surrey (surreyatlas.uk)

Action cards and their importance

Action cards are themes and topics that young people raise as important issues that need immediate action.

An action card is raised when four or more young people share similar feedback or think that it should be raised on a specific topic.

The UVP team then step in and share what the young people have said to the relevant services, and in return receive a response from them within two months.

Action cards can only be closed with the consent of children and young people.

If you would like further information about Mencap and ATLAS, then you can follow them on social media, their social media will be listed down below.

Mencap

Website:

Learning Disability – Down’s Syndrome – Williams syndrome | Mencap

Facebook: Mencap – Home | Facebook

Twitter: Mencap (@mencap_charity) / Twitter

Youtube: Mencap – YouTube

Linkedin: Mencap | LinkedIn

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mencap

ATLAS

Website: