Ruth Garbutt

Is there a place within academic journals for articles presented in an accessible format

This article addresses some of the difficulties inherent in disseminating emancipatory research findings in academic journals in a way that is empowering to people with learning difficulties in the UK. It calls for academics to challenge the editorial criteria of academic journals to consider accepting articles written in a more accessible style. It argues that from a social model point of view the products of the research, as well as the process, should be accessible to people with learning difficulties. It looks at what an accessible article is and why it is important, the editorial criteria of some academic journals, different models of presenting emancipatory research and suggests some innovative ways forward that highlight the need to ‘get involved’ in the world of people with learning difficulties and to consider accessible information as a rights‐based issue.

Past, present and future: Exploring the sexual identities of people with learning difficulties

People with learning difficulties in the United Kingdom will generally have a similar life expectancy to people without learning difficulties (except for those with complicated impairments), but research indicates that the health needs, and especially the sexual needs, of people with learning difficulties have largely been unmet (Meehan, Moore and Barr, 1995; Mencap, 1991). Since the advent of Community Care policies in the United Kingdom in the 1980s, fewer people with learning difficulties live in institutions and it is estimated that about 60 per cent of people with learning difficulties live in the community now. However, Shakespeare, Gillespie-Sells and Davies state that ‘with the growing numbers of disabled people living independent lives in the community, more complex issues of relationships, sexual practice, domestic violence and parenting have been on the agenda.’ (1996: 188).