News Release, 13 September 2006
The Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities has today commented on a new storyline in the BBC soap opera, Eastenders, which features a baby born with Down’s syndrome. Barbara McIntosh, Co-Director of the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities said:
“We hope this will help to raise awareness about Down’s syndrome and help more people to understand that having a child with a learning disability is not necessarily a tragedy.
“Eastenders has approached this storyline accurately and in a responsible manner. We know that from the time a diagnosis is made, support for families varies greatly across the country. While some hospitals and professionals are able to provide a huge amount of help and information, others are not able to provide the same level of care.
“We will be paying attention to the development of this storyline. We know that support for families can be patchy and difficult to access depending on where families live and the attitude of their health practitioner. Fathers, in particular, can feel sidelined and excluded from decisions affecting their child and it will be interesting to see how this is depicted.”
“However, Eastenders did not address antenatal screening practices. We are concerned about the issue because support can be lacking even before the birth. Many women are not always told about the implications of antenatal screening or given in-depth information about what it would be like to raise a child with a learning disability. At the same time support from midwives can be variable with not all having balanced, up-to-date information. Our antenatal screening project is working to address this issue and we will continue to liase with professionals and pregnant women over the next year to identify ways to better support parents.”
Return to news releases 2006
Note to editors
For further information and interview requests contact please contact the press office on 020 7803 1105 / 1128 or email the press office
The Foundation promotes the rights, quality of life and opportunities of people with learning disabilities and their families. We do this by working with people with learning disabilities, their families and those who support them to:
- Do research and develop projects that promote social inclusion and citizenship
- Support local communities and services to include people with learning disabilities
- Make practical improvements in services for people with learning disabilities
- Spread knowledge and information.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
