Learning disability practice: are we listening to the seldom heard?

Nurses need to seek out the views of people with severe, profound or multiple learning disabilities and communication challenges to ensure their needs are met

There is long-standing recognition in the learning disability and mental health sector that autistic people who do not have a learning disability fall between gaps and their needs can go unmet.

People with autism are not seen as having ‘enough’ of a learning disability to qualify for support from learning disability teams, and their mental health needs are not severe enough to obtain support from mental health teams.

But times are changing and legislation such as the Autism Act 2009, and the