As part of this year’s Learning Disability Week, we’re celebrating the voices and stories of our service users. Today, we’re excited to introduce you to Amelia, who attends the Cromwell Road Day Centre.

My name is Amelia and when you meet me you can’t help but share my smiles with me. My smile and happiness are infectious.

People may see that I have a profound learning disability, that I sit in a wheelchair and that I may not be able to speak.

But I know how to get your attention and pull you in to interact with me and I will reward you with total joy from smiling, laughing, lots of happy noises and eye contact as well as holding hands and enjoying some touch.

I particularly enjoy 1:1 interaction when I’m at Cromwell Road Day Centre. On a Wednesday we do Intensive Interaction, which means that my communication partner interacts with me 1:1  and follows my lead. So if I am smiling, they smile back at me. If I make some joyous noises, the other person copies these. This makes me feel seen and heard and people communicate the way I do.

Next time you see someone like me in the community ask yourself “do you see me?”