The Intersectionality of intellectual disability & ageing

Abstract

First paragraph: Intellectual disability is characterised by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behaviour, which cover many everyday social and practical skills reducing ability to learn new things (Department of Health, 2001). Intellectual functioning refers to mental capacity, whilst adaptive behaviour spans a range of conceptual, social and practical skills often referred to as daily living skills. Approximately 2% of the population in England have an intellectual disability although fewer than this are known to services (Public Health England, 2015). People with Down’s syndrome make up between 15% and 20% of the population of people with intellectual disabilities, with around 1 in every 700 babies born affected by this chromosomal disorder (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). There are a range of individuals who are often considered to have an intellectual disability but who do not, including persons with dyspraxia, dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, Asperger’s syndrome or some individuals with autism.