Assessing the Needs of Learning Disabled Young People with Additional Disabilities

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Abstract
This article describes the social and functional characteristics of a group of learning disabled young people with additional severe disabilities, identified through a school-based survey of 12-to 16-year-olds. The study was carried out as part of a larger piece of work to develop the knowledge base for the first learning disabilities joint investment plan in one coterminous health and local authority inner-city area. Compared with the results of a survey conducted in 1977, any change in the prevalence of severe disability, or of the most severely physically disabled, has been relatively small. However, the prevalence of severe disability was found to be markedly higher among young people of South Asian background, compared with the rest of the population. Some of the implications for service planning and provision are discussed.