GPAtlasWhat it covers
What a learning disability is, what autism is, and why the two are not the same thing. The adjustments a practice can make at the desk, on the telephone and in the room, where each one is recorded, and the annual health check offered from 14. Diagnostic overshadowing, the nineteen year gap in age at death, and who to ask in the practice when you are not sure.
Who it is for
Everyone in the practice: reception and care navigators, administration, practice managers, healthcare assistants, nurses, pharmacists, GPs and trainees.
By the end you will be able to
- Say what a learning disability is, what autism is, and how they differ.
- Use the words people use about themselves, drop outdated ones, question your assumptions.
- Name the adjustments a practice can make, and where each one is recorded.
- Recognise diagnostic overshadowing, and treat a new symptom as a symptom.
- Explain the annual health check, the register and the health action plan.
- Say what this primer does not replace, and who to ask next.
Modules
- Who we mean
- What the law asks
- What reception can do
- Overshadowing and the health check
This does not replace the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training. That training includes a live session co-delivered by people with lived experience of learning disability and autism, which no e-learning can replace; this primer is a pre-read for it.
Written to support the Health and Care Act 2022 duty on learning disability and autism training. It does not meet the Oliver McGowan code of practice on its own. Law named: Health and Care Act 2022, section 181.
Sources
- Health and Care Act 2022, section 181: mandatory training on learning disability and autism (in force 1 July 2022)
- The Oliver McGowan code of practice on statutory learning disability and autism training (Department of Health and Social Care, published 19 June 2025, final from 6 September 2025)
- The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism: about the training (NHS England workforce, training and education)
- Equality Act 2010, section 20: duty to make adjustments, and section 29 with Schedule 2 for service providers
- Equality Act 2010, Schedule 2, paragraph 2: the duty is owed to disabled persons generally
- Mental Capacity Act 2005, section 1: the principles
- LeDeR annual report 2024, learning from lives and deaths: people with a learning disability and autistic people (King's College London for NHS England)
- Autism spectrum disorder in adults: diagnosis and management, NICE clinical guideline CG142, recommendations 1.1.4 to 1.1.9 (last updated 14 June 2021)
- What is autism? (NHS, page last reviewed 6 May 2026) and Learning disabilities (NHS)
- Annual health checks and people with learning disabilities: eligibility from 14 and on the practice register (Public Health England on GOV.UK)
- Annual health checks: anyone over the age of 14 with a learning disability (NHS England, read from the web archive copy of 13 May 2026 because the site refuses automated fetches)
- How to talk and write about autism, June 2025 guide (National Autistic Society): identity-first is preferred by most autistic people; avoid 'suffers from', 'high or low functioning' and 'special needs'
- What is a learning disability, and how it differs from a learning difficulty (Mencap)
- DAPB4019: Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag, version 2 (Amd 24/2025): full conformance for health providers, GP practices included, by 31 March 2027, moved from 30 September 2026 (NHS England Digital, read from the web archive copy of 29 August 2026)
- Accessible Information, DAPB1605 Amd 30/2025, version 1.1.0, published 3 July 2025, adding the review step to identify, record, flag, share and meet (NHS information standards directory)
- Learning Disabilities Health Check Scheme, England, March 2025: 79.9% of those on the register aged 14 and over had a check in 2024 to 2025 (NHS England Digital)
- Down's syndrome: people with Down's syndrome are likely to have some level of learning disability, and have a range of abilities (NHS)
- Mental Capacity Act 2005, section 11(7)(c): a health and welfare lasting power of attorney extends to giving or refusing consent to treatment
- STOMP and STAMP: stopping over medication of people with a learning disability and autistic people, and supporting treatment and appropriate medication in paediatrics (NHS England): the annual health check includes a structured medication review
- LeDeR action from learning report 2023 to 2024 (NHS England): 'learning disability' and 'Down's syndrome' should never be recorded as a reason for a DNACPR decision
GPAtlas is not accredited, verified or endorsed by Skills for Health or NHS England. Acceptance of this training is at the discretion of your employer, who remains responsible for confirming it meets local requirements. Your employer may require more frequent refreshers than the guidance period; the practice's own policy applies. Some pictures and films in our courses, and the film narration, are made with AI tools. We check every one for accuracy before we publish it.