ECC began the Meaningful Life Ageing Well project in September 2019, recognising that people with learning disability often die earlier and experience earlier frailty, than the general population. As the local population of people with disability in Essex ages, their needs will change and there may come a time when their primary need is no longer disability related, instead, it becomes age-related.
In 2023, ECC broadened it’s focus of the ageing well work to incorporate the needs of people with other disabilities in addition to those with Learning Disabilities.
As a result of this, in April 2023 ECC co-produced a Disability Strategy which details a four-year plan for a more inclusive Essex.
This strategy is for people in Essex who have:
- a learning disability
- a physical disability including people with brain injury
- a sensory impairment – part or full loss of eyesight and/ or hearing.
This includes ‘invisible’ disabilities that are not easy for others to see.
The strategy covers people who have more than one disability. It covers people who have autism as well as one of these disabilities or who consider their autism itself to be a disability.
“My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn't prevent you doing well, and don't regret the thing it interferes with”
Stephen Hawking, Physicist, cosmologist and author of A Brief History of Time (quote source: NY Times)
“I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the subject I know best”
Frida Kahlo, Mexican artist, political activist and feminist icon
Key points from the Essex Disability Strategy:
- Planning for the future can be challenging for some individuals, particularly when considering potential health changes as they age.
- Financial concerns are common, especially considering the additional expenses associated with disabilities. Navigating the complex benefits system can be overwhelming, and many require additional support.
- The necessity for social care is heightened by poor health and disability, yet proactive planning for health changes is often neglected.
- Furthermore, individuals with learning disabilities and other disabilities face a higher risk of premature mortality compared to the general population. They are more susceptible to physical and mental illnesses and may not receive timely and appropriate medical care.
The Disability Strategy focuses on 4 main areas, identified through conversation with people with lived experience:
- people want to have good relationships.
- people want to live somewhere that feels like home.
- people want to stay healthy, well and safe.
- people want to do things that are important to them and their community and that help them to feel part of something. This might include working in a job or learning new things.
They are an important focus for people as they continue through life and begin to experience signs of ageing.
View ECCs Disability Strategy
"Now more than ever people with a learning disability want to be heard... And we say we should be treated like everyone else."
Tommy Jessop, Actor and political activist, voting member of BAFTA (quote source: BBC)
“The world worries about disability more than disabled people do”
Warwick Davis, Actor and TV presenter (quote source: BBC)
Essex all age Autism Strategy 2020-2025
Autism touches the lives of many people in our county and can affect many aspects of life, from school to healthcare, to employment and social lives.
The Essex All Age Autism Strategy is a five-year partnership strategy that takes a whole life approach and encompasses children, young people, adults, older adults and their families and carers.
It has been developed by people with lived experience of autism including families and carers, ECC officers, NHS clinical commissioning groups across Essex, voluntary and community partners and others within our community network.
We want to build on and focus on what people can do and where they want to get in life, rather than focusing on what people may find challenging.
As such, the strategy sets out clear objectives and constructive actions to work towards the vision of Essex as an autism inclusive county.
Delivery of the strategy will require that we continue to work in partnership for and with our communities to ensure its positive ambitions are achieved.
Please click on the link below for the strategy document:
If you have any queries, please email allageautism@essex.gov.uk
“Me being deaf isn't the problem. There is nothing wrong with being deaf; it's society that is the problem."
Rose Ayling-Ellis, Actor, TV presenter and author (quote source: Telegraph)
