Scottish Learning Disability Week 2025: I Am Here – with talent, time ⏲️and ideas! 💡
This September, from Monday 8th to Sunday 14th September, we celebrate Scottish Learning Disability Week 2025. This year, it feels extra special to me, particularly not only because it is the first year the week takes place in September, but also because I am celebrating the week as a Founder of my new business, Not Lost Anymore.
Scottish Learning Disability Week is a time to come together to raise awareness and share lived experiences, and highlight the contributions of people with lived experience of learning disabilities across Scotland. It is about representations, visibility, and pride that people have. Far too often, people with lived experience of learning disabilities are spoken about instead of being heard directly. Every day of every year is about changing this.
Why Does Scottish Learning Disability Week Matter?
Awareness weeks like this one are vastly important to raise awareness as much as possible. They give us space for people to tell our lived experiences in our own ways, as best as we can. It can challenge stereotypes and show people in this world that we are made of the right stuff, that we are more than just labels or assumptions. It is a time when our voices that are often overlooked, but we are here to prove that our voices need to be listened to, so please stop judging us for living and speaking out about our lived experience.
This year’s theme, “I Am Here,” is powerful and remarkable to all people with a learning disability. It is a message of being part of something, being in the presence and visibility. It is about saying we are part of our communities, and we have so much to give.
What “I Am Here” Means To Me?
As someone who has lived with many experiences of the care system, traumatic abuse, and a learning disability, I know firsthand how easy it is to feel invisible in society. Far too many people with lived experiences of a learning disability are not seen for who we really are – our skills, our hopes and dreams, and our potential to achieve the things we want to in life.
This year, I want to share my own words on what “I Am Here” means to me: “I am here with talent, time, and ideas.”
For me, this is about recognising that people with learning disabilities bring real value and being your true self. We have creativity, passion, and the ability to make meaningful and insightful contributions to our society. We are definitely not defined by what we cannot do; we are defined by what we can do and offer.
Celebrating as a Business Owner
This year is also significantly extra special for me because it is the first Learning Disability Week that I am celebrating as a business owner and founder. Through Not Lost Anymore, I have created a space where my lived experience can make a real lasting difference for everyone included in the learning disability community. Delivering lived experience training, raising awareness, and working alongside organisations to build inclusion for people with learning disabilities.
When I first came up with the name for my business, I was sitting on a bus. The words Not Lost Anymore came to me, and I knew immediately that it was the right fit. It represents the journey that I have been on from feeling lost when I was younger to finding my voice, my purpose, and my place in the world.
Now sharing Learning Disability Week, I get to stand not just as someone with lived experience, but as a leader, trainer, and founder. This feels like a milestone worth celebrating and telling.
Looking Ahead
Scottish Learning Disability Week is more than just a date on the calendar; it is a reminder that people with learning disabilities are here every single day of the year. We are part of Scotland’s communities, workspaces, and future.
This September, I am proud to celebrate the theme “I Am Here” alongside many people across the globe who have a learning disability. I hope that the message of this week continues long after it ends: that people with disabilities are recognised, valued, and feel included in every single part of this society.
Because we are here, with talent, time, and ideas.
