Stoneleigh dancer helping to challenge stigma surrounding learning disabilities

Andrew Self originally rose to fame on BBC's The Greatest Dancer. IMAGE: India Whiley-Morton

Submitted for publication in the Surrey Advertiser

Dancer Andrew Self from Stoneleigh, Surrey, has been named one of 18 new ambassadors from the learning disability community for Mencap.

The learning disability charity announced the extraordinary group of people called the Myth Busters who are all living life with a learning disability and through their work with the charity will be helping to challenge wider stigmas and societal misconceptions about what living life with a learning disability looks like.

Alongside Andrew, the Myth Busters, featuring some familiar and famous faces people may recognise, are a group of people that demonstrate just how unique learning disability is and how everyone in the community deserves to be equally seen and heard.

They include Michael Beynon – the first man in Wales with Down’s syndrome to run a marathon, who also set-up his own successful business producing the best Welsh cakes in the country, Sophie Potter – a self-identified ‘party girl’ who loves Sex and the City and going dancing on nights out with her sister, and Ellie Goldstein – face of Gucci and Glamour Magazine’s ‘Gamechanging Model of the Year’, to name a few.

Alongside them are also celebrities such as George Webster who took Cbeebies by storm as their first children’s TV presenter with Down’s syndrome, BAFTA Award-winning Tommy Jessop and actor Sarah Gordy, OBE.

Having originally risen to fame on BBC's The Greatest Dancer, Andrew Self now regularly performs to his new fanbase across his social media channels. Self-taught from the age of 11, Andrew's audition will go down in history as not only shattering stereotypes but also for bringing Cheryl to tears, as he flew through the first few rounds. Andrew is currently a member of Matthew Bourne's Cygnet School, is a dance assistant with Tailfeather Dance and is also a hairdressing assistant.

Speaking about being a Mencap Myth Buster and a person living with a learning disability, Andrew said: “I’m excited to be a Myth Buster because I want to show the world what people with a learning disability can do. With the right opportunity and a little bit of patience and help, we can achieve our goals.”

To welcome the new Myth Busters to the Mencap family, India Whiley-Morton – a photographer, who herself has an aunt with a learning disability – has released unique portraits of each of them. India is the daughter of Radio DJ and Mencap ambassador Jo Whiley, who campaigned in spring 2021 to get people with a learning disability prioritised for the Covid-19 vaccine, after she was offered the vaccine before her sister Frances who has a learning disability and diabetes.

The images India has taken of The Myth Busters showcase them living happy lives and busting myths at the same time, demonstrating the diverse range of ages, ethnicities, different types of learning disability and regionality each member of the group uniquely brings to the charity.

Commenting on her role in this announcement, India said: “I’ve grown up with my Auntie Frances who has a learning disability and she is the life and soul of my family. I’ve also spent my whole life helping out at the nightclub my grandma runs for people with a learning disability - dancing with the people and generally being very involved in the community. When Mencap approached me about capturing these amazing Myth Busters on camera, I was really keen to be involved.

“I wanted to be part of this campaign to show the amazing personalities that exist in the learning disability community.  I loved working with each and every one of the Myth Busters - hearing all their stories, learning about their passions and getting to know them while shooting. It was great fun and everyone was amazing! I also loved meeting the families and carers and seeing all the special and unique relationships unfold on set.”

Late last year, Mencap released some statistics which revealed that two thirds of people in the UK cannot correctly identify a learning disability as a reduced intellectual ability, with 40 per cent of people thinking it’s dyslexia and 28 per cent believing it to relate to a mental health issue. The survey also revealed two in five people (42 per cent) had not seen someone with a learning disability in the media in the past year, with a third (33 per cent) saying they would feel more comfortable talking to someone with a learning disability if they saw them featured more often in the media.

These statistics prove just how important representation and inclusion is. Those who were surveyed also revealed they’d be more likely to engage with people with a learning disability if they lived on their street (39 per cent), worked on their local high street (37 per cent) or participated in local sports activities with them (29 per cent).

It’s Mencap and the Myth Busters’ hope that by showcasing this diverse mix of people as ambassadors and giving them all a platform to talk about what living life with a learning disability means to them, they’ll increase the visibility of people with a learning disability not only in the media but also in wider society.

Edel Harris, chief executive of the learning disability charity Mencap, said: “Each and everyone of these Myth Busters are amazing and I can’t thank them enough for joining the Mencap family.

"To have this diverse group of unique, talented, interesting, energetic, and fun people on board to help us shatter misconceptions, reduce stigma and campaign for societal change and greater inclusion of people with a learning disability is a real pleasure and privilege. We want the UK to be the best place in the world for people with a learning disability to live happy and healthy lives and I’m delighted the Myth Busters are helping us to make this a reality.”

For more information on the launch of The Myth Busters, including a chance to see the portraits by India Wiley-Morton and behind-the-scenes footage from the shoot, visit: mencap.org.uk/mythbusters

In addition you can view a video all about Myth Busters here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaM7c0iMess

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