Why are people nasty to those with learning disabilities?

[GenuineMan90]

When I've been out and about minding my own business I've noticed some people to stare or make fun with people with this disability.

Why are people in are society like this to them?

Lack of understanding. Ignorance. Learned behaviour. It's a disability that often isn't understood. People with learning disabilities were generally kept locked away and institutionalised until quite recently.

People who have learning disabilities have often been more isolated than any other group of people during the pandemic. They were also dying from covid disproportionately.

People with learning disabilities deserve so much better from society.

It's the bottom of the barrel disability, people don't give a shit.

I'll be surprised if you get more than a handful of posts, It's autism that draws the crowds.

I've had this once.
Most people are very understanding and accommodating

Can you explain how you "had this once"?

Do you mean you had a learning disability once?

Or do you mean you were out and about and noticed how people reacted to people with learning disabilities?

On a subconscious level, I think a lot of little find those with clear learning difficulties a bit unpredictable. We don't quite know how to engage with them or what they might say or how they might respond. At its heart it's a relatively primitive and instinctive self preservation thing. You see it in young children where their faces demonstrate it more clearly when approached by a learning disabled child in a park or soft play. "This person is like me but there's something different about them and I'm not sure what to do". They're not mean to them but their faces and body language show their confusion.

Of choose we hope that we've moved on from that ancient instinctive thing, and were grown ups, but some people are better at it than others. And sadly some show fear of 'otherness' in cruel ways.

I taught severely learning disabled and severely autistic children for decades. We used to go out a lot to make sure that the curriculum was brought into real life, and that they learned skills like going to the shop or a cafe. For the most part, people were really kind and helpful, and we really saw the best of people.

But there's a big difference between school staff out with a small group of children, and an adult or teen negotiating the world independently. And that's when people are not always so kind.

A lot of people, not "a.lot of little"!

Out and about @Gazelda

People are nasty. People are especially nasty to people that can't fight back.

A range of reasons. Some people were brought up by unkind people and this is learned behaviour. Some people are scared of difference. Some people are so unhappy that only being unhappy to others gives them any relief.

I've been a support worker for a year and work with 4 people with learning disabilities/autism. One thing I was dreading was seeing the publics reaction and having to stop myself having a go at people! But I have been really pleasantly surprised. I am out and about with them every day in all kinds of scenarios and they get treated well, often people go above and beyond with them. Even groups of silly teens don't react. Small kids don't make comments. I'm really observant of people!
In all the time I've been with them there has maybe been a couple of odd looks and one verbal attack which was awful and was one too much.
Of course I'm not saying stuff doesn't happen but I've been impressed.

As with my experience with my pupils, I thin the public are much more responsive and positive when they can see that the person has a carer or other responsible person with them. Then people feel safe in helping and interesting with them.

I think that the people who have the most difficulty are those adults who have a learning disability that is mild enough that they don't need supervision, but which still marks them out as different. People are much less confident about engaging with them when there isn't a third person around to manage any problems.

But yes, fortunately the vast majority of people are at least tolerant and at best supportive.

I think it's ignorance and fear of the unknown. I fell into learning disability nursing by mistake I'd never met anyone with a LD before until my agency placed me on a job in a supported living. I absolutely loved it but I would have never considered it as a career choice before. I think a lot of people have never met people with LDs.

People do stare at disabilities in general-or anything other than the norm.

My dd is missing her arm. She said one day when she was about 8 or 9yo that her dream was to walk down the road with no one staring.
People stare. They turn around to look again. They point. They sometimes come back to look again, or walk round people she's with to get a better look. That's adults as well as children. I've had a child of about 9 or 10 try and pull her arm out from where she was hiding it in me to have a better look. The adult with them said nothing.

My sons got severe learning difficulties and severe autism and it's very rare he has anything negative said about him.
He's a young adult now but he's still got the most beautiful smile and he gets a lot of positive attention from people who see a well behaved happy young man.