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Adult Learning Difficulty

People with Learning Disabilities (Intellectual Disability) have "reduced intellectual ability and difficulty with everyday tasks, e.g. household tasks, socialising or managing their money which affects someone for their whole life" (Mencap website). Some conditions are associated with Learning Disability, e.g. Down's Syndrome or Autism, but not everybody with these conditions has a Learning Disability. Learning Disabilities affects around 5% of the population and is diagnosed by a Psychologist by completing an IQ assessment. To find out more about Learning Disability please visit the Mencap website:

Speech and Language Therapists can support people with Learning Disabilities (Service Users) by:

  • Completing communication assessments- finding out what language they are able to understand and express (either verbally, non-verbally or using other means). 
  • Providing advice to families and support staff around the most appropriate communication strategies to use to support their communication. 
  • Supporting families and support staff to create communication friendly environments. 
  • Provide visual supports, e.g. Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC), visual timetables, objects of reference etc, to support the Service User to understand their environment and routine or to help them to express their wants and needs more effectively. 
  • Completing assessments and providing recommendations for safe eating and drinking (Dysphagia). This includes reducing the risk of choking (food getting stuck in the throat) and aspiration (food or drinks going down into the lungs). 
  • We also work with the team around the service user (their family and support staff), as well as directly with the Service User themselves. 
  • We work closely with other members of the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT), this includes Learning Disability Nurses, Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, Dieticians, Psychiatrists (and many more). 

Speech and Language Therapists see people in their own home, day services or out in the community, depending on what is most appropriate for the person. 

How to refer to our service:

We have an open referral policy, this means that anyone can make a referral for support from our service, including Service Users themselves.