Definition of Learning Disability. 2.1 There are jointly agreed eligibility criteria for the services provided by the Community Learning Disability Team. These define a learning disability and explain how priorities for resources operate. There is also a jointly agreed protocol for the appropriate management of the care of learning disabled people with a mental health need.
Definition of Learning Disability. Learning disability is most commonly understood as a significant impairment of intelligence and social functioning as manifested during the development period of early childhood. There are many different causes of learning disability, some of them unknown. It results from damage to the brain (or malformation of the brain) or nervous system which may be caused by inherited factors, or may result from injury during birth, illness or accident. The condition is not reversible and has a lasting effect on development. Learning disability is not an illness classified as one of the mental disorders although people with this condition may also suffer from imposed psychiatric illnesses just as they may also have a physical disability.
Definition of Learning Disability. (i) A significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information, to learn new skills (generalized impaired intelligence), with; (ii) A reduced ability to cope independently (generalized impaired social functioning) (iii) Which started before adulthood with a lasting effect upon development and support (iv) Many people with learning disabilities also have accompanying physical and/or sensory impairments (v) This definition encompasses people with a broad range of learning disabilities. (The presence of a low intelligence quotient, for example an IQ below 70, is not in itself, a sufficient reason for deciding if an individual should be provided with additional specialist health and social care support). However, equally ‘Learning disability’ does not include all those who a have a ‘learning difficulty’ that is more broadly defined in education legislation and which refers to a wider group of vulnerable people.
