Recovery - Louise Hill
My name is Louise Hill and I’m 24.
I was bullied because of my learning disability for years. It made me pretty miserable. Some of the adults who should have helped me let me down.
People with learning disabilities have the same feelings as anyone else, but sometimes we need some extra support. There were things that could have been explained better. When the bullying got really bad, I was taken out of school and given work to do at home, then moved to another school.
I knew that was what happened to the bad kids. I thought I was being punished. I thought I’d done something wrong.
If someone had taken the time to sit down and talk to me properly, I would have understood more, and they would have understood me better.
Things worked out well for me. I am a completely different person from who I used to be. I got involved with ENABLE Scotland, first through their drama group and then as a self-advocate, sticking up for myself and other people with learning disabilities. I am at college now, studying health and social care, and I’m hoping to work with children with learning disabilities when I’m finished.
It is possible to recover from bullying. I’m proof of that. All I needed was the chance to be listened to, to tell my story and to be understood.
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