DEFINING A LEARNING DISABILITY
المؤلف:
IAN PEATE & DEBRA FEARNS
المصدر:
Caring for People with Learning Disabilities
الجزء والصفحة:
P8-C1
2025-10-04
294
DEFINING A LEARNING DISABILITY
Before discussing needs and support issues, it is important to try to defi ne this group of people that we term as ‘adults with learning disabilities’. On the surface, this may seem a simple task. However, reviewing the historical context of learning disability care reveals a variety of ways in which the term has been defined over time (Department of Health 2001a; Gates 2003; Grant et al. 2005; O’Hara & Sperlinger 1997).
In March 2001, the Government produced a White Paper entitled Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century (Department of Health 2001a). Within this document, not only do they seek to defi ne and identify this group of people with ‘learning disability’, but also attempt to provide policy guidance for staff and carers who work with and support adults with learning disabilities. This was the first White Paper produced in over a decade in relation to the care and support of adults with learning disabilities, and hence it has great influence in determining the approaches currently adopted in caring for and supporting adults and children with a learning disability.
Within the White Paper, a person is described as having a learning dis ability if they 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);
• Which started before adulthood, with a lasting effect on development.’
(Department of Health 2001a, p. 14)
It must be acknowledged that there is an ongoing debate regarding what defines learning disability and the associated difficulties of labelling a group of people in the first place. Acknowledgement is given to the importance of such debate.
It is valuable to note the importance of language and the context of the environment within which you may be working.
The term ‘learning difficulty’ can be attributed different meanings. For example, a person who has dyslexia can be said to have a learning difficulty but not necessarily a learning disability. Also, within some work environments, particularly within social care settings, the term ‘learning difficulty’ is often taken to mean learning disability.
This is not designed to make life confusing! However, it highlights the importance of clarification and the difficulty in categorizing a group of people under a particular label. Hence, you can see how the number of people within the population who have a learning disability can be difficult to determine.
Following the definition above, the government estimates that there are approximately 1.4 million people in England with a learning disability. There are about 210,000 with a severe learning disability requiring a high level of support, and about 1.2 million people with a mild/moderate learning disability, which means these people may live independently, with varying needs of support (Department of Health 2001a).
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