Explore case studies from councils and how COVID-19 exacerbated the inequalities people with learning disabilities face. This work informs part of the health inequalities hub, which is funded by UK Government.
What are learning disabilities?
A learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability and difficulty with everyday activities, such as household tasks, socialising or managing money. 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.
It is estimated there are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability – 350,000 of them are under the age of 18. In all cases a learning disability is lifelong.
Learning disabilities can be classed as mild, moderate, severe or profound. 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.
