Eight out of ten children with learning disabilities are scared to leave their homes for fear of being bullied, a report has found.

The bullies are invariably other children, picking on young people with Down’s Syndrome, cerebral palsy and other disabilities because they are easy targets.

The survey, conducted by Mencap, was based on interviews with hundreds of children who have learning disabilities and is designed to explore what life is like for them in modern Britain.

Instead of finding tolerance and understanding, the survey found that the children are routinely bullied everywhere they go, including at school, in the park, on the bus, in the street and at out-of-school clubs.

More than half (58 per cent) of the young people questioned said that they had been physically attacked by their bullies, with the same number saying their tormentors had made them cry.

Five out of ten (53 per cent) said that they now stayed away from the places where they had been bullied in the past while four out of ten (36 per cent) said that the bullying did not stop when teachers or parents were involved.

Twenty-seven per cent of the children surveyed said that they had been bullied for three years or more.

The findings come just months after Unicef declared British children the unhappiest in the developed world, with high levels of bullying partly to blame. Dame Jo Williams, chief executive of Mencap, said bullying meant that children with learning disabilities were missing out on many things other children took for granted.

“These shocking findings show how big a problem bullying is for children with a learning disability. Bullying wrecks lives, making children scared to go out,” she said.

“This means that children with a learning disability are missing out on opportunities to learn and make friends, socialise and play. If action is not taken to tackle bullying, children with a learning disability will face bullying and isolation all their lives.”

Sir Al Aynsley-Green, the Children’s Commissioner for England, said he was seriously concerned by the findings. “All forms of bullying can have a serious and detrimental impact on children’s lives. The bullying of children with a learning disability is of particular concern to me as they are more likely to be bullied than most other groups of children, meaning they are unable to enjoy a fun and active school and social life,” he said.

The charity cited an example where one family was forced to move house because their son was bullied so much.

Ben Pelham, 19, was always eager to make friends with local children and enjoyed going out on his bike and to the park near his Essex home. But because he had Down’s syndrome he was bullied. “He often came home with spit on him or the tyres of his bike deflated,” said Charlotte Morse, his mother. “On some days he was chased by a group of children until he got back home.”

“Ben was bullied wherever he went. He would return from the park with bruises and torn clothes. The other children would put Ben in goal and kick the ball straight at his face. As far as the local kids were concerned, Ben was there for their entertainment, he was the butt of their jokes, an object to ridicule.”

The bullying left Ben terrified to go outside. He had nightmares and refused to leave the house, even to play football outside the front door. Whenever he heard children’s voices outside the house, he would cower and beg his mother not to let them near him.

Last year the bullying became so intense, the family moved to a new home in a different area of the town.

“I know Ben is not alone in being bullied in this way,” Ms Morse said. “I believe most children with a learning disability are bullied. How can children with a learning disability grow up to be independent if they are scared to leave their home?”

200

— babies born with a learning disability each week

Source: Mencap

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