Learning about Intellectual Disabilities and Health

WHAT IS INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY?

Intellectual disability is:

A significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information, to learn new skills (impaired intelligence), with
A reduced ability to cope independently (impaired social functioning);
which started before adulthood, with a lasting effect on development.

Intellectual disability does not include all those who have an intellectual or learning difficulty, which is more broadly defined in education legislation.

The above definition is taken from the UK Government White Paper published in 2,000 in 'Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century'.

Please note that throughout the website we use intellectual disability or intellectual disabilities, terms that are increasingly recognized throughout the world. The terms commonly used in the UK are learning disabilities or learning difficulty and, in North America, developmental disability, mental retardation and mental handicap.