Enable Scotland (stylised as ENABLE Scotland; formerly the Scottish Society for the Parents of Mentally Handicapped Children
and Scottish Society for the Mentally Handicapped) is a member-led
charity
Charity may refer to:
Common meanings
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...
based in
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
that supports people who have
learning disabilities
Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficulty ...
and their families. Founded in 1954 they campaign for equal rights for people who have learning disabilities and also provide personalised services to assist them with various problems in their lives. Typical difficulties addressed include access to employment, transportation, support for families, and help with finances. Enable Scotland also run the Scotland Employers Award. Theresa Shearer FRSE is the charity's current Chief Executive.
History
The idea for a support organisation for children who have learning disabilities dates back to February 28, 1944, when a group of five parents met together in a Scottish living room. They planned to create an organisation to campaign for services in Scotland that would benefit children who have learning disabilities and their parents. Their first meeting was held in the education offices in
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, and was an unexpected success; over 350 people attended from across Scotland.
The founding members included Catherine Shapter,
and the physicists
Joan Curran and
Samuel Curran
Sir Samuel Crowe Curran, FRS, FRSE (23 May 1912 – 15 February 1998) was a Scottish physicist and academic who was the first Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Strathclyde – the first of the new technical universities i ...
.
Campaigns
They received media attention in 2007 from an advertising campaign that compared people with learning disabilities to pets. They were also featured on
STV News
''STV News'' is a Scottish news division produced by STV. The news department produces two regional services covering STV's Channel 3 franchise areas of Northern and Central Scotland.
STV News programmes are produced from studios in Glasgo ...
for a campaign that highlighted the difficulties of elderly carers of disabled children.
Controversies
The charity received criticism over their
personal data
Personal data, also known as personal information or personally identifiable information (PII), is any information related to an identifiable person.
The abbreviation PII is widely used in the United States, but the phrase it abbreviates has fou ...
handling after the personal data of 101 people was lost in November 2011. They have since committed to improving their practices in this area.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official website
Charities for disabled people based in Scotland
Charities based in Scotland