Mencap is a non-profit organization.
Everything we do is focused on valuing and supporting people with learning disabilities, as well as their families and caregivers. Our vision is of a world in which people with learning disabilities are valued equally, heard, and included.
The association changed its name to The National Society for Mentally Handicapped Children in 1955, and its first project, the Orchard Dene short-stay residential home, opened in 1956.
The National Society launched the Brooklands Experiment in 1958, which was a groundbreaking project. This study compared the progress of children with learning disabilities who were hospitalized to that of a group of children who were moved to a small family environment and cared for using educational activities similar to those found in normal nurseries. After two years, the children in the home-like setting demonstrated significant improvements in their social, emotional, and verbal skills. The experiment's success was widely publicized around the world.
Higher Education Act
The patron of Mencap
Mencap's influence and campaigning work resulted in the inclusion of people with learning disabilities in the Further and Higher Education Act. People with learning disabilities were included in a new national survey of disabled people. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother became the patron of Mencap in 1986.