LONDON, September 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Most government and learning disability organisations are still failing to give the UK's 1.5 million people with learning disabilities (LD) a voice and a say in how their services are 'personalised'.

UK Government's policy is now that people with LD should receive personalised social care. Multimedia provides a proven tool to help people with LD achieve this. But the technology seems too challenging for the majority of social carers, says Andy Minnion, director of the Rix Centre.

"Through our R&D at the Rix Centre with local authorities and groups prepared to take the plunge, we have shown clearly that multimedia is an essential tool for personalising services for people with communication difficulties. Without these tools the danger is that the rhetoric of personalised services does not reflect the reality," says Minnion.

"The 1.5 million people with LD are often let down by those who should be serving them."

To break this blockage the Rix Centre is holding a conference, My New Media Life, to show managers and directors of social care how multimedia can enhance the choices and give voice to people with LD and help their carers and families.

A unique part of the conference will be presentations by people with LD showing how multimedia is changing their lives. These include:

Social Networkers with learning disabilities from Swansea and Glasgow - forging new online support networks ; and

'Multimedia advocates' from across the UK who use digital cameras to overcome communication barriers day-to-day, to organise their own support to achieve independence; and

Web developers with learning disabilities in East London - building a new generation of online 'easy-read' information for their peers.

My New Media Life is on October 1 2008 at The British Museum. It is cosponsored by SCIE, the government's Social Care Institute for Excellence and supported by BP.

The Rix Centre was formed as a charity in 2004 to exploit new media for the benefit of the LD community. It is named after Lord Rix who has dedicated his life to helping people with disabilities. He will give the opening address.

Contacts:

Lorenzo Coretti if you wish to attend the conference: +44(0)20-8223-7430

Andy Minnion: Director Rix Centre: +44(0)20-8223-2447

More details at http://www.Rixcentre.org

Contacts: Lorenzo Coretti if you wish to attend the conference: +44(0)20-8223-7430; Andy Minnion: Director Rix Centre: +44(0)20-8223-2447