Name: Red Stone
Price range: $

Having a Baby

Beyond Words launches a new evidence-based picture story called, Having a Baby, which aims to improve the experience of maternity care for expectant parents with learning disabilities.

Stand by Me

Take part in a new UK-wide research study on supporting couples when one partner has dementia.

An online love story

Paige and Oliver are a young couple, who are both supported by Choice Support. Sara Dean, Choice Support Homes’ Manager in Cheshire, tells us about supporting Paige and Oliver to keep in touch during these difficult times.

Supported Loving Blog Living It Up Simon And Dawn Gr8 Mates Wedding Feb 19 2

Gr8 Mates get engaged

Simon and Dawn met as members of the Gr8 Mates friendship project. Simon remembers “when we bought our engagement rings, the minute I had Dawn’s, I went down on one knee and proposed to Dawn in the shop...”

Supported Loving meets the British Psychological Society

Supported Loving and 2BU, a LBGTQ+ social group for adults with learning disabilities, present powerful first-hand accounts to the British Psychological Society.

Supported Loving Blog Claire Bates Unordinary Conference Ld Today

Just support me to lead an ordinary life

Dr Claire Bates congratulates Stay Up Late on their (un)ordinary conference

Supported Loving Blog Sue Sharples Winston Churchill Award

Preventing sexual harm

Winner of Winston Churchill Fellowship, Sue Sharples, Chair of U-Night Group in Lancashire, calls for your involvement in her research to prevent sexual harm.

Cqc Listens To U Night Relationship Guidance Sized

CQC responds to plea for guidance on relationships

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) have just published their new guidance on relationships and sexuality after listening to self-advocates with learning disabilities and Supported Loving.

Sl Blog Safe Soulmate Main Image Module3

Safe Soulmate – a new dating agency

Do you want to make new friends or find a loving partner? Are you an adult with learning disabilities or autism, living in Cambridgeshire? You may be interested in a new dating agency, called Safe Soulmate.

Thinking out loud

People with learning disabilities are just like you and me....defining themselves as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and questioning who they are sexually.

Website Main Image Module Stone Background

Transgender easy read guide

We launched a new Transgender easy read guide at the Learning Disability England conference in Manchester.

Remembering a fortunate encounter with Dave Hingsburger

Perhaps it’s good to have someone to look up to, whose qualities are a source of aspiration and inspiration, someone to follow, learn from and be motivated by.

What it means to be transgender

The following blog was written by a person with learning disabilities, who wanted to share her experiences of how good support has helped her to live the life she has always wanted.

LGBT social groups

Social groups for people with learning disabilities who identify as LGBT are few and far between.

Supported Loving - how can families help?

I went to speak with the Supported Loving network about a family perspective on the near taboo subject of sexual relationships between people with learning disabilities.

Sexuality and learning disabilities

Sexuality and Learning Disabilities is a book published by Learning Disabilities Today and edited by Choice Support's Dr Claire Bates.

RESPOND – My Life, My Marriage Project

Research indicates that people with a learning disability can be forced into marriage and many cases can go unreported.

Love is...

The Brelade Players, a performance group in Brighton and Hove, came up with words and artwork, which was incorporated into a beautiful love poem.

Is love still a taboo subject?

Mark my 23-year-old son, has always had an eye for the ladies. He wants to meet the right girl and have love and romance in his life.

Opening a can of worms

LDT publishes Dr Claire Bates’ blog challenging ingrained cultural barriers to love and sex.

Tic Tac Toe 1777859 Web Main Image Module

All you need is love

The lyrics of the Beatles song say “all you need is love”. I believe that love is the central key to citizenship which is something that every one of us has a right to.

Easy complacency or hard commitment

If you are provider of support for people with a learning disability it is easy to be complacent about helping people to develop close, intimate relationships.

Relationships are for everyone

Many take relationships for granted, yet forget or are fearful about empowering opportunities for people with learning disabilities to meet potential partners.

Love is not a luxury

Dr Erin Ferguson's research explores how people with learning disabilities can access the messy, fun, exciting and frightening world where love is not a luxury.

Starting the conversation

Gillian Leno, intimate relationships teacher, writer and researcher, writes about the lasting impact of collaborative work.

Love is real, real is love

We should all be made aware that regardless of age, disability and race, everyone needs love and relationships in their life. In the words of John Lennon “love is real, real is love".

Why accessible information is important for healthy relationships

CHANGE, a leading human rights organisation, says sex education is needed for everyone.

Supported LovingHeart 529607 Main Image Module Web

I haven't always been in a happy relationship

Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of people with disabilities who are married.

Pride in LGBT relationships

Learning Disability Today publishes blog by Dr Claire Bates on LGBT Pride.

The importance of Supported Loving

I attended my first Supported Loving event last week. What a great day. Sexual relationships are an important part of most people’s lives, but for people with learning disabilities this is often not the case.

Leanne and David

Leanne and David explain what good relationship support means to them.

A sister's point of view on learning disability dating scene

I’m Helena, sister and founder of Happily friendship and dating agency. I want to share my personal experiences from the learning disability dating scene and why I have decided to launch my own agency, Happily.

Katie...finding love through a dating agency

I first joined Mates 'n' Dates about a year ago. Mates 'n' Dates help people with learning disabilities to meet others and form a friendship or relationship - whatever your heart desires, basically.

Mates 'n' Dates

I’m Maxine, I work at Guideposts co-ordinating Mates 'n' Dates, our friendship and dating scheme for adults with learning disabilities in Oxfordshire.

Sex Love And Relationships Main Image Module

Sex, love and citizenship

Love is one of the seven keys to citizenship, Dr Simon Duffy, Centre for Welfare Reform.

Daniel and Angela - building a relationship

Supported Loving is about highlighting the importance of good support to help people with learning disabilities to have loving relationships. This becomes even more important for staff working with people with more complex needs around relationships, sexuality and intimacy.

Event The Big Meet Josephine and Jack presentation

Josephine and Jack - relationships and sex

Josephine and Jack are a unique approach to supporting people with learning disabilities to talk about relationships and sex.

What is Supported Loving?

In 2009 Choice Support sponsored me to start a PhD. I understood then that the amount of work involved meant that I would be thinking of little else for years, so I knew I had to choose a topic that was important to me.

Find support

Find support near you

Careers

Current vacancies

Information for applicants

About us

What we do

Housing and living