A learning disability can occur from birth or because of an illness or injury during your early years. If you have a learning disability you will need help with learning and remembering. You may also need support to communicate and do everyday things.

Our website contains advice on issues such as disabled parking, disability, sport, special educational needs and disabled adaptions for council housing, but Kent County Council's Social Services are the primary providers for care for those with learning disabilities within the borough, and there is more information on available services on their website.

• Learning Disability Partnership - The learning disabilities pages give information about the changes to learning disability services that are happening in Kent. These changes are in response to the government white paper 'valuing people' and the Kent paper 'working together in Kent'.
• Valuing People - Supporting those living in Kent with learning disabilities, their families and carers, as well as providing useful information for professionals. Find local information near to where you live, or browse an index of services.
• Deaf Services - We provide services to Deaf and partially hearing people of all ages, through staff skilled in communicating with Deaf people and who have a knowledge and understanding of the Deaf community and Deaf culture.
• Occupational Therapy - The Occupational Therapy (OT) Bureau assesses your needs if you have difficulty with daily activities due to a physical disability or frailty, for special equipment or adaptations to your home.
• Kent Supported Employment - Kent Supported Employment is an established service that operates exclusively within Kent. It aims to ensure that disadvantaged people are proportionately represented in the workforce. We have almost 15 years experience within the field of Supported Employment and bring a wealth of specialist knowledge, skills and experience.
• Parking - For your convenience we have grouped services in this category. This section includes: Blue Badge Parking Scheme, Community Transport and disabled parking bays.
• Childrens Disability Register - The Children Act required all Social Services departments to establish a register of the number of children who are disabled in their area. Kent has established three area based registers to collect local information.
• Direct Payments and the Kent Card - When a person is assessed as needing support from social services they can have a Direct Payment. Direct Payments are cash payments made to individuals so that they can buy their own service or support. The Kent Card is one of the banking options that can be used to receive a Direct Payment.
• Independent living - Independent living covers a range of services to help older people, or adults with learning disabilities or mental health problems maintain their independence. This includes an independent living scheme, sheltered and extra care housing schemes, and new technologies that can help people extend their capability to cope independently.
• Managing your own support - Self-directed support is Kent County Council's vision to allow you to manage and control your own support, enabling you to remain living independently.