A PROFESSOR who who helped launch a pioneering learning disabilities service in Hartlepool has become a Commander of the British Empire in the New Year’s Honours.
Professor Barry Carpenter, who has a daughter with Down’s Syndrome, was awarded the honour for services to special educational needs.
He is chair of the advisory board of the care provider MyLife, which runs a community of six bungalows at Burbank, Hartlepool for people with learning disabilities.
Since opening in August, all six bungalows have become home for service users who receive round the clock support from their own specially-trained care workers.
Each bungalow is purpose-designed for two people, with colour schemes and layouts to help the development of people diagnosed with autism and other learning disabilities
His pioneering research-based approach focuses person-centred support for people with learning disabilities.
Prof Carpenter said: “It’s a wonderful honour to receive this recognition. I know as a father how much attitudes towards caring for people with learning disabilities have changed hugely in the 30 years I’ve been working in the area, and overwhelmingly for the better.
“Everybody in the sector works amazingly hard but there’s still a lot to do, particularly as the demographic trends show there will be more and more people with disabilities who need help in the community.”
Prof Carpenter holds honorary chairs at the Universities of Worcestershire, Limerick, Hamburg, and Flinders (in Australia), and is an acknowledged international expert in caring for people with learning disabilities. He had previously been awarded an OBE.
A former headteacher in Essex, Warwickshire and Worcestershire, and an advisor to Health Education England and he has published more than100 academic articles and ten books on special needs, and lectures around the world on supporting people with complex needs develop a full and rich life in their community.
Source: http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/14176861.Academic_s_pioneering_Hartlepool_scheme