Scottish Learning Disability Week 2025 will take place from 8th to 14th September. This annual event shines a spotlight on the lives of people with learning disabilities in Scotland, celebrating their contributions and promoting a more inclusive and equal society. It encourages everyone to recognise the value, skills, and achievements of individuals with learning disabilities, while also drawing attention to the barriers they continue to face.

 

Each year, the Scottish Learning Disabilities Observatory’s working group selects a theme based on real experiences. For 2025, people with learning disabilities shared that they often feel left out — whether it’s in employment, healthcare, social spaces, or cultural life. In response, the theme for this year is:

 

“I Am Here” — a powerful message of visibility, inclusion, and recognition.

 

At PAMIS (Promoting A More Inclusive Society), we’re proud to stand alongside others in support of Scottish Learning Disability Week 2025, taking place from 8–14 September. This year’s theme, “I Am Here”, resonates deeply with our work and the people we support — individuals with profound learning and multiple disabilities (PMLD), their families, carers, and professionals across Scotland.

 

PAMIS is the only organisation in Scotland dedicated solely to people with PMLD. We believe that every individual, no matter how complex their needs, has the right to be visible, valued, heard, and fully included in all aspects of life. We work in partnership with families and carers to ensure their voices are central in shaping services and support.

 

What We Do

 

Our wide range of services is designed to improve quality of life and promote inclusion at every stage of life:

 

• Family Support Service – We work closely with families, carers, and professionals to ensure tailored, person-centred support.
• Learning and Development – Our training draws on lived experience, research, and examples of good practice to build a more informed and compassionate support network.
• Leisure and Cultural Access – We facilitate inclusive access to recreational activities, helping to break down barriers to participation.
• Postural Care Workshops – Understanding how posture affects health and well-being is vital for individuals with PMLD, and our workshops raise awareness and promote best practice.
• Storytelling – Through multisensory stories, we help foster understanding and empathy, changing perceptions and strengthening communities.
• PAMIS Digital Passports – These support inclusive communication, making it easier for those with PMLD to express their needs and preferences in healthcare and daily life.

 

As part of our commitment to accessible spaces, PAMIS proudly chairs the UK Changing Places toilet campaign and operates our own mobile Changing Places Toilet facility – the Pamiloo – ensuring that no one is excluded from events and public life due to lack of suitable toilet facilities.

 

We also provide guidance around transitions from children’s to adult services and promote Self-Directed Support, advocating for greater flexibility, choice, and control in how people manage their care. Our research work continues to build an evidence base to support quality of life for those with PMLD and their families.

 

As our CEO, Jenny Miller, reminds us:

“Profound means deep, it means wise, it means expert.”

At PAMIS, we listen to the expertise of families and the individuals they care for, and we walk beside them to ensure their rights to access, inclusion, and equality are upheld every day.