Learning Disability Week 2026: "Do You See Me?", Why Inclusion Matters to All of Us
Learning Disability Week 2026 runs from Monday 15 to Sunday 21 June, led by the charity Mencap. This year's theme, "Do You See Me?", is a simple but powerful question, and one that every business, care provider, and community in the UK should be asking themselves.
What Is a Learning Disability?
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It's a lifelong condition that can make it harder for a person to learn new things, understand information, communicate, or do everyday tasks like managing money or travelling alone.
It's not the same as a learning difficulty, such as dyslexia, and it's not a mental health condition, although someone can have both. Around 1.5 million people in the UK have a learning disability, which works out to roughly 1 in every 50 of us. That means almost everyone knows someone, even if they don't always realise it.
The level of support someone needs is different for everyone. Some people live independently, with just a bit of help here and there. Others need full-time support with daily life. What stays the same for everyone is this: people with a learning disability have the same hopes, talents, and right to a full life as anyone else.
Why "Do You See Me?" Matters
This year's Mencap campaign, "Do You See Me?", is about making sure people with a learning disability are properly seen, heard, and valued, not overlooked, spoken over, or left out.
The numbers show why this matters so much:
- 86% of unemployed people with a learning disability want a paid job, yet only around 1 in 4 adults with a learning disability are actually in employment.
- 1 in 3 people with a learning disability spend less than an hour outside their home on a typical Saturday.
These aren't small gaps. They show a society that still has a long way to go when it comes to genuine inclusion; in the workplace, in healthcare, and in everyday community life.
Busting a Few Myths
There's still a lot of confusion out there about what a learning disability actually is. Let's clear a few things up.
Myth: People with a learning disability can't make their own decisions.
Fact: with the right support and information, most people with a learning disability can, and do, make their own choices about their lives, from what to eat for dinner to where to work.
Myth: A learning disability is the same as a learning difficulty.
Fact: they're different things. A learning difficulty, like dyslexia or dyspraxia, doesn't affect general intellectual ability. A learning disability does.
Myth: People with a learning disability can't hold down a job.
Fact: many people with a learning disability are brilliant employees; reliable, hardworking, and loyal. The barrier is usually a lack of opportunity, not a lack of ability.
What Inclusion Actually Looks Like
Real inclusion isn't just a poster on a wall during awareness week. It's about everyday actions that add up.
- Accessible information: using Easy Read formats, plain English, and clear visuals so everyone can understand what's going on.
- Workplace opportunities: actively hiring people with a learning disability and giving proper support once they're in the role, not just at the interview stage.
- Community access: making sure social spaces, transport, and services are genuinely usable by everyone, not just accessible "on paper."
- Listening first: asking people with a learning disability what they need, rather than deciding for them.
Small, consistent changes like these are what turn a hashtag into real change.
How You Can Get Involved This Week
Learning Disability Week is a brilliant moment to start, or restart, the conversation. Here's how to take part.
- Follow and share stories from people with a learning disability; their voices matter most.
- Use the hashtags #LearningDisabilityWeek and #LDWeek2026 on social media to help the message travel further.
- Talk about it: start a conversation with colleagues, friends, or family about what visibility and inclusion really mean.
- Support Mencap's One Big Walk, a fundraising challenge to walk 1.5 million steps collectively, representing the 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability.
- Make your own organisation more accessible by reviewing your website, materials, and recruitment process with inclusion in mind.
Our Commitment
At Marice Recruitment Agency, we believe inclusion isn't a one week conversation. It's something we should be building into healthcare, care, and workplace culture every single day. Whether it's supporting care homes to deliver person centred, dignified care, or helping create fairer access to employment, we're proud to stand behind a society where everyone is truly seen.
This Learning Disability Week, ask yourself the question Mencap is asking all of us.
Do you see me?
Learning Disability Week 2026 runs 15 to 21 June. To find out more or get involved, visit mencap.org.uk.
Tags: Learning Disability Week 2026, Do You See Me, Mencap, disability inclusion UK, learning disability awareness, workplace inclusion, accessible care, Marice Recruitment Agency
