SANDY MCGREGOR has learning disabilities. For almost 40 years he lived in the type of institutionalised care which is now a relic of a bygone era. But even when he was finally moved into the community he was frustrated by an “over protective” regime which included an alarm going off every time he left his flat.

Today the 54-year-old is living in his own home, he married last year and now enjoys travelling on holiday to places like Cyprus.

His story is an example of what can happen if too much support is given to people with learning disabilities, stifling their individuality and right to choose, according to a charity.

Next month, McGregor will be a key speaker at a conference in Glasgow, organised by supported-living charity C-Change Scotland, which aims to deliver the “difficult” message that too much care can lead to a breach of human rights.

McGregor suffered an accident as a child and spent some time in hospital before being moved to Ladysbridge Hospital in Aberdeenshire, at the age of 10, for patients with learning disabilities.

He moved into the community when it was closed in 2003, part of the policy to remove outdated long-stay institutions for people with learning disabilities – but problems arose because he was being “over supported”.

Amanda Tough, of C-Change Scotland, who has worked with Sandy since 2013, said: “Sandy really wanted to be living on his own, he wanted to have a pet, he wanted to have a relationship and he wanted to work.

“He had moved into his own home, but in a serviced building where five other people with learning disabilities lived.

"He is such an able man, but at times he could come across as being quite angry and that anger was misread as being threatening. What he actually needed was for someone to listen and help him work through what he wanted to achieve from life.”

Tough said the issues included having an alarm and buzzer on his front door so that support workers would be alerted when he went out – even though he was free to leave at any time.

She added: “At one point he wasn’t allowed access to cleaning materials, as it was seen as too risky. So he went and bought them, cleaned his flat and then got rid of the evidence.

“It was things like that which didn’t make sense.”

She added: “When we came to work with him it took a long time to build up a relationship with him. One of the things he would do is take himself off and go for walk for a couple of hours. People used to panic and think he had gone missing – but we learned it was his way of coping.

“There has always been a sense of 'we had better phone the police' – but he hadn’t run off, he had a right to choose to go for that break. He was doing something that most people would do.”

When C-Change first started working with McGregor he was living in supported accommodation with round-the-clock care. Now he receives around 16 hours a week of support to help, for example, with managing money.

But Tough said: “If he doesn’t need help, we don’t give it to him.

“His whole life has changed. He moved into a flat with his girlfriend Rosie and now they are married. He has a cat and been on holiday abroad on a number of occasions.

“All he ever wanted was a good life. One of the things he used to say was I want to be able to open my door and for a buzzer not to go off.

“What we worked out was there was no need for the buzzer to be there in the first place.”

Dr Sam Smith, chief executive of C-Change Scotland, said his case was not an isolated one and families looking after relatives with learning disabilities may also be failing to allow enough freedom and choice.

She said this was particularly seen in the social isolation of young people, who were “protected” from going out and forming relationships of their own.

But she added: “I wouldn’t be suggesting the answer is to strip away support from people – that is not what we are talking about. What we need to do is focus more on what people can do, what their capabilities are and what their skills and gifts are.

“Sometimes that is the bit that gets overlooked, particularly where people have a history or reputation for challenging behaviour that worries people.

“What we do is recognise all the risks, but we also try to focus on the person and what is unique about them.”