Skip to content
Home page Home
Meet the winners
Home page

About the Awards

Together, we spotlight your stories, triumphs and extraordinary impact on our society.

It’s your turn to shine.

Guided and judged by the achievements of past winners, the Learning Disability and Autism Leaders Awards honours the invaluable contributions of people with learning disabilities and autistic people, whose exceptional work is often overlooked.

Did you know all photos and illustrations featured on this website are of or by winners, ambassadors and supporters?

Enter before it’s too late

In partnership with

Learning Disability Today

Learning Disability Today is a news website for families and professionals interested in developmental disabilities, including learning disability (intellectual disability), autism, and global developmental delay.

Find out more

Through online analysis and proactive news journalism, Learning Disability Today aim to support professionals and families in campaigning for change by providing a platform to share what matters most.

Learning Disability Today is dedicated to ensuring that adults with learning disabilities and autistic individuals are recognised, listened to, and included in society, and are encouraged to take part in policy decisions that impact their lives.

They want to ensure that autistic children, those with learning disabilities, and individuals with global developmental delays receive the best start in life and access to appropriate services and education.

We are incredibly grateful to Learning Disability Today for their generous support of this year’s event. Their partnership makes a huge difference, helping us celebrate and recognise the amazing achievements of people with learning disabilities and autistic people. Thank you for standing with us and making this event possible!

Every year Dimensions runs the Learning Disability and Autism Leaders’ Awards…

with help from all our charity partner, supporters and ambassadors.
This year’s honorary partner is the Stay Up Late campaign.

Open to anybody with a learning disability and autistic people, the awards do more than simply celebrate amazing people; they provide background lighting so winners can show why and how they’re Leaders.

Find out more about Dimensions

Meet our campaign partner

Stay Up Late

Stay Up Late is a pioneering organisation that champions the right of people with learning disabilities and autistic people to live full, active social lives, and we are proud to have them as our Campaign Partner for the 2026 Leaders’ Awards.

By challenging social isolation and outdated attitudes, they work to ensure everyone has the opportunity to choose how they spend their time, who they spend it with, and to enjoy ordinary things like friendships, relationships and nights out.

Their leadership and values make them a powerful partner as we celebrate equality, choice and the achievements of outstanding leaders.

We’re fighting for a world where people with learning disabilities have the freedom to live the lives they choose!

Stay Up Late
Find out more

Stop the press!

Winners have been featured…

in the Guardian, BBC Radio 2, The i, Channel 5 News, Pick Me Up, Care Talk, Care Management Matters, Learning Disability Today, Daily Express, local BBC Radio and local newspapers.

You make this possible

More than 1,000 stories

entered, read and celebrated

Over 200 certificates

awarded to inspiring entrants

7 years of the Leaders Awards

and counting…

1m+

More than 1 million impressions on social media

260k+

Over 260,000 views to Leaders’ Award webpages

13k+

Over 13,000 engagements on social media

Follow @DimensionsUK on social media

FacebookLinkedInInstagramBlueskyThreads

Ambassadors past and present

Winner benefits

Winners are invited to a free exclusive awards ceremony to be presented with their award

Winners stories are published for our tens of thousands of social media followers and website visitors to read

Winners are given opportunities to get involved with our national campaigns

Did you know…

  • Anybody with a learning disability or autistic person can enter or be nominated.
  • No formal diagnosis is needed; self-diagnosis is valid.
  • It’s open to anybody, not just people receiving support.
  • Everybody gets a certificate for entering.
  • Finalists get another certificate.
  • Winners get invited to the awards ceremony.
  • The awards ceremony is free to attend – you don’t need to pay for a seat!
  • The venue and hosts for the 2026 awards will be announced soon….

“Be proud, of who you are”

It’s free for everyone, with each participant receiving a personalised digital certificate. Winners are then invited to our exclusive, free award ceremony and winners’ stories and voices are shared for all to see.

How to enter

Find out more

It is increasingly crucial to showcase the remarkable accomplishments of people with learning disabilities and those who are autistic. Regrettably, outdated societal perspectives persist, with some individuals (including some who run our country) failing to recognise the invaluable contributions, impacts, and voices of this important demographic. Platforms like these awards play a vital role in challenging such perspectives.

Ken Bruce DJ, Presenter and Leaders’ Awards Ambassador.
Enter now