“Everyone has a story to tell”: A review of life stories in learning disability research and practice

Accessible summary This paper considers what we know about the life stories of people with learning disabilities. It was inspired by one of the authors sharing his own life story. It explores what a life story is. It discusses how life stories help us to understand more about people's lives and history It reviews what we know about how people with learning disabilities can record their stories, including people with high support needs We know life stories can help people to get good support and person‐centred care But we found that people's stories are often lost when there are big changes in their lives We found that staff may not have the skills or confidence to support people to tell and record their stories We think it is important to find out how life stories can be used to support better care for more people. ​ In this paper, the authors review life stories in learning disability research and practice since the 1960s. Although there is consistent evidence of their value in giving people a voice and an identity beyond the service label, they are not widely used in the provision of health and social care. This is despite long‐standing policy commitments to person‐centred practice. The paper explores possible barriers to the use of life story work and what further research is needed if they are to be more widely and effectively used in practice.