‘We don’t want to be left on the scrap heap’
AN autistic woman has been honoured for her work championing sex education for those living with disabilities and learning difficulties.
Lorraine Stanley, 51, says disabled people should not have to face health inequalities.
She has been named on the charity Dimensions 2024 Learning Disability and Autism Leaders’ List for her work addressing the lack of resources on disability and sex.
Lorraine, of Dorset, caught a virus when she was 32 and her body never recovered properly. She now relies on an electric wheelchair.
She founded the training organisation Sex With A Difference which educates, advocates, and campaigns for accessibility in healthcare and recognition of disability issues.
Through the SWAD network, she found her experience of struggling to get a cervical screening due to accessibility issues resonated with others. Lorraine said: “Being a Leaders’ List finalist is exciting and validating.
“It’s great for an organisation as wacky and wonderful as SWAD to be recognised.
“I want the community of other people like me to know it is possible to run your own business and to make a difference. I would like to see people with disabilities and autistic people having power in politics.We don’t want to be left on the scrap heap.”
Another winner, Ben Fai, 30, is keen to see the Special Olympics gain recognition like the Paralympics and wants more opportunities for those with learning disabilities and autism to take part in sport.
Cyclist Ben, of Eastbourne, East Sussex, represented Britain at the 2023 games in Berlin. He won a bronze and a team silver medal. He said: “I did a Mo Farah celebration. It was a dream come true, but I want to
see the games get more recognition. Over the past year, there have been fewer than 600 mentions of the Special Olympics in UK media, compared to more than 2,000 mentions of the Paralympics.”
Ben dedicated one of the medals to the wife of his support worker Wayne, who passed away before the event.
Opportunities
The Special Olympics World Games, also known as the Special Olympiad, is for participants with intellectual disabilities, unlike the Paralympics which focuses on those with physical issues.
Dimensions’ research showed 72% of people with learning disabilities and autism felt ignored by society.
Only 37% think they get the same opportunities as everyone else. And 85% say there should be more representation of them in the media.
The Leaders will be honoured at a ceremony at Cineworld O2 London today, hosted by DJ Ken Bruce. He said: “It is crucial to showcase the accomplishments of people with learning disabilities and those who are autistic. Regrettably, outdated societal perspectives persist.”
Rachael Dodgson, of Dimensions, said: “It is vital that people take note of these stories.”