Samuel Ayer Obituary

My father, Sam Ayer, who has died aged 81, dedicated his life to the care and support of vulnerable children and adults. His research made a significant contribution to a shift in services from institutional to community care. His doctoral thesis, Community Care and the Mentally Handicapped 1984, highlighted the key role mothers play in providing care for children with learning disabilities, and he played a key role in the s research programme into the development of nursing for people with learning disabilities. Born in Akropong, Ghana, Sam lived for most of his life in Britain, but he was proud of his Ghanaian heritage and continued to speak his native language, Twi, with family and friends. His mother, Emma Abena Sika, was a housewife and his father, Frederick Anim Gyekete, was a farmer. After attending the Methodist school in Akropong, Sam trained as a teacher at the towns Presbyterian Training College now the Presbyterian College of Education. Committed to improving the lives of visually impaired students, he became a specialist in teaching blind children.