Providing Support for People With Learning Disability and Autism
learning disability explained
Learning Disabilities Definition
A learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability and difficulty with everyday activities – for example household tasks, socialising or managing money – which affects someone for their whole life.
People with a learning disability tend to take longer to learn and may need support to develop new skills, understand complicated information and interact with other people.
Learning disability support
The level of support someone needs depends on the individual.
For example, someone with a mild learning disability may only need support with things like getting a job. However, someone with a severe or profound learning disability may need fulltime care and support with every aspect of their life – they may also have physical disabilities.
People with certain specific conditions can have a learning disability too. For example, people with Down’s syndrome and some people with autism have a learning disability.
Different types of learning disability
There are different types of learning disability, which can be mild, moderate, severe or profound. In all cases a learning disability is lifelong.
It can be difficult to diagnose a mild learning disability as the individual will often mix well with others and will be able to cope with most everyday tasks. However, they may need support in other areas of their life such as filling out forms.
People with a severe learning disability or profound and multiple learning disability (PMLD), will need more care and support with areas such as mobility, personal care and communication. People with a moderate learning disability may also need support in these areas, but not definitely.
For any parent, the greatest concern will be your child's wellbeing and their future. As a parent, you can help your child by encouraging their strengths and getting the right support to help them overcome the things they find difficult. Every child is an individual with their own needs, but with the right support children with a learning disability can lead fulfilling lives in the way they choose.
What can cause a learning disability?
A learning disability occurs when the brain is still developing (before, during or soon after birth). Several things can cause a learning disability.
Before birth things can happen to the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) that can cause a learning disability. A child can be born with a learning disability if the mother has an accident or illness while she is pregnant, or if the unborn baby develops certain genes.
Genes are chemicals in our bodies that contain information about us, like how we look.
A person can be born with a learning disability if he or she does not get enough oxygen during childbirth, has trauma to the head, or is born too early.
After birth, a learning disability can be caused by early childhood illnesses, accidents and seizures.
Associated conditions
A lot of people with a learning disability have more than one diagnosis and have a set of conditions that are unique to them.
Down's Syndrome
William's Syndrome
Autism and Asperger's Syndrome
Cerebral palsy
Global Developmental Delay
Fragile X Syndrome
Challenging Behaviour
Communicating with people with a learning disability
Being a good communicator
To be a good communicator with people with a learning disability you need to:
- use accessible language
- avoid jargon or long words that might be hard to understand.
- be prepared to use different communication tools
- follow the lead of the person you're communicating with
- go at the pace of the person you're communicating with, check you have understood and be creative.