Introduction

Who is this briefing about?

This briefing is concerned with adults with learning disabilities. Learning disability is the term used in national policy to describe people who have:

• a significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information, to learn new skills (impaired intelligence), with;
• a reduced ability to cope independently (impaired social functioning), and;
• which started before adulthood with a lasting effect on development.

This covers a broad range of disabilities. Low IQ on its own is not an indicator of a learning disability – so should not be used to determine service eligibility. Autism is different from learning disability, though some people on the autistic spectrum may also have a learning disability. This briefing does not aim to provide comprehensive coverage of wider autism policy, evidence or practice. Learning disability is also fundamentally different from having a mental health condition – though there are higher levels of some mental health conditions amongst people with learning disabilities.

Some people with learning disabilities prefer to be known as people with learning difficulties. However, learning difficulty is used in children’s and education services and to refer to a much wider range of people (for example, people with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia). Thus, it can be confusing within a local authority to use learning difficulties when referring to adult social care. Some academics and professionals choose to use the term intellectual disabilities or impairment.