Abstract

On July 4th 2013, Connor Sparrowhawk, also known as Laughing Boy or LB, was found dead in a specialist NHS unit. Connor, who had autism and epilepsy, had a seizure while in the bath and no member of staff was on hand to stop him from drowning. An entirely preventable death.

Sara Ryan presents a frank, sometimes funny and touching account of her son's early life and preventable death and the unfolding #JusticeforLB campaign. This serves as a wake-up call to all of us and asks: can we really claim that we respect the life and dignity of learning disabled people?

This is a story that needs to reach as wide an audience as possible. Only then will people such as Connor receive the care and protection they are entitled to.
Gail McKeitch, parent of two sons with autism, one of whom also has epilepsy
This account of a parent's experience brings to light the vital need to really listen, understand and work alongside people with learning disabilities and their families to ensure that care and support is right for them.
Lyn Romeo, Chief Social Worker for Adults
The echoes of those who no longer speak... no candy coating, it is what it is; a tragedy born from negligence. To quote: 'At the heart of this story is love'. Love 'mobilised a social movement' and love keeps hope alive. Not a good read, a must read.
Dr Wenn B. Lawson, lecturer and author
Anyone who cares about patient safety and fairness should read this book. It will make you cry, it will make you laugh, it will make you think, and I would be amazed if it did not make you passionate about changing things.
Peter Walsh, Chief Executive, Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA)
What happened to Connor shows that people with learning disabilities are still not treated as human beings like everyone else. Professionals need to listen to people with learning disabilities and their families and friends about what their care should be.
Gary Bourlet, Founder of Learning Disability England and self-advocate of learning disabled rights
The heart of this story rises above a narrative of private grief and public failure by offering a powerful eulogy to the sheer force of love, especially the personality and character of Connor Sparrowhawk that helped inspire a social movement for truth, justice and accountability. Everyone committed to accountable public services should read this book and learn from it.
Richard Humphries, Senior Fellow, The King's Fund
This is a book that should never have needed to be written - young "dudes" like Connor should not die untimely deaths and families should not have to fight for justice. However, it is a book that most definitely needs to be read and used to effect change
Ruth Northway OBE FRCN PFHE, Professor of Learning Disability Nursing, University of South Wales
This brilliantly written book is so many things. It's a story of love and loss, a story of people dying preventable deaths because our society doesn't care enough, a story of how what started as one family's battle for accountability turned into a social movement.
Dr Jenny Morris OBE, Visiting Professor of Social Work and Social Policy and policy analyst
Dr Sara Ryan is a social scientist at the University of Oxford, specialising in autism and learning disabilities. Her blog, 'My Daft Life', started before Connor's death, and continues to document the events that followed https://mydaftlife.com.
A searingly powerful book.
Sarah Holmes MBE, Patient Advocate
This is, rightly, a book which makes difficult reading for anyone professionally invested in any part of the system - for exactly the same reasons, it should make compulsory reading.
Alex Ruck Keene, barrister, writer and educator, 39 Essex Chambers
This is a beautifully written and deeply moving account of a mother's love for her son. It is a book about how a social movement, inspired by the quest for justice, continues to seek accountability and change following Connor Sparrowhawk's needless death. This book deserves to be read widely and for people to take action from it. #JusticeForLB
Rhidian Hughes, Voluntary Organisations Disability Group
A truly remarkable book that should never have had to be written, and that should be read by literally anyone who cares about their fellow human being; Sara brings beauty to her narrative, juxtaposed to the brutal ugliness of the subject matter, juxtaposed to the heart wrenching loving memory of a son taken from his family before his time. An emotional roller coaster made even more poignant by reason that the text is so tragically not fictional.
Dr Luke Beardon, Senior Lecturer in Autism, Sheffield Hallam University and author
A salutary lesson on what happens when public services lose their heart and forget that they exist to serve the public and, in particular, be part of addressing the prejudices and disadvantage that are inherent in our society.
Rob Greig CBE, Chief Executive, National Development Team for Inclusion