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What’s in a name? Alternatives to “learning disability”

Abstract

The term learning disability is currently used in the UK to describe people who require a service due to a low intellectual ability. It is argued that the term is demeaning, confusing and, as currently defined, fails to describe the group of people to whom it is currently applied. It is suggested that a better term for researchers to use would be intellectual disability; however, we should avoid labelling individual services users at all.

Keywords

Definitions, Learning disability, Labelling

How to Cite

Whitaker, S., (2006) “What’s in a name? Alternatives to “learning disability””, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Research and Practice 3(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.5920/mhldrp.2006.32177

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Authors

Simon Whitaker

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This article has been peer reviewed.

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