GPAtlas🧭 When to suspect
A learning disability is a lifelong condition defined by two features present together:
• A significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information and to learn new skills (impaired intelligence)
• A reduced ability to cope independently (impaired adaptive or social functioning)
By definition both must have begun before adulthood and have a lasting effect on development.
A learning disability is distinct from a learning difficulty such as dyslexia, dyspraxia or dyscalculia.
• A learning difficulty affects specific skills without reducing overall intellect – the two terms are not interchangeable.
• Severity ranges from mild to profound and reflects functional ability, not an intelligence quotient (IQ) score alone.
The diagnosis is usually established in childhood; the central task in primary care is not to label but to close a stark health gap.
• People with a learning disability die around 20 years earlier than the general population (median age at death roughly 62 years).
• A large proportion of those deaths are avoidable.
The role of the GP is proactive:
• Maintain an accurate register
• Deliver the Annual Health Check
• Screen relentlessly for the conditions that quietly shorten lives
• Never explain away a new symptom as "just the learning disability"
| Severity | Approximate IQ | Typical functional picture |
|---|---|---|
| Mild | 50–69 | • The large majority • Often largely independent in self-care, may live independently with support • Difficulties with literacy, numeracy and abstract reasoning • Frequently undiagnosed |
| Moderate | 35–49 | • Need support with daily living and communication • Some language • Usually in supported living or with family |
| Severe | 20–34 | • Limited communication • Substantial help with self-care • Associated physical and sensory impairments are common |
| Profound | < 20 | • Profound communication and mobility limitations • Full support for all needs • Very high burden of physical health problems |
Source: NICE NG54 · NHS England LeDeR
🔒 Sign up free to read the full topic
You're viewing a free preview. Create a free account to unlock the rest.
Sign up free →Sample topics are open to everyone in the Free Sample Bundle.