Learning disabilities, difficulties and differences - meeting the needs of these users

[sarawilcox]

What

We're interested in findings about producing good content for users with learning difficulties. Please share any findings here.

Related issue

• content on Down's syndrome
• easy read/Easy Read #290

[sarawilcox]

Some content design recommendations from NHS Test and Trace cognitive diversity user research:

• providing a range of information formats (text, video, audio, easy read etc.)
• ensuring plain English is used
• breaking text into small chunks and using clear headings
• jargon is defined clearly if it must be used
• accompanying text with images to help convey meaning
• setting expectations of the full user journey and what is expected of participants when (picture guides/social stories, and videos) can be really helpful for this
• avoiding vague or subjective language
• as much as possible only showing information that is relevant to the user to reduce cognitive overload

[sarawilcox]

W3G Making Content Usable for People with Cognitive and Learning Disabilities

Summary Use clear and understandable content

[Jean-Elg]

We've received useful feedback from NHSE/I Learning Disability and Autism Programme on certain aspects of service manual style guide when reviewing the learning disabilities topic on NHS website. The extensive amends were co-written with people who have learning disabilities. Not sure how best to progress this.

[SiRose]

I needed to look into user feedback which questioned the NHS website linking to our content for learning disabilities, from a link in our spina bifida content which cited learning difficulties.

This suggested a lack of clear distinction or understanding of the difference between learning disabilities and learning difficulties, hence I looked for clinical evidence to separate the concepts and assess how best to iterate the page.

My Life quotes MentalHealth.org (although they mean mentalhealth.org,uk and the material linked to is no longer on their website) with this definition:

• “a learning disability constitutes a condition which affects learning and intelligence across all areas of life” • “a learning difficulty constitutes a condition which creates an obstacle to a specific form of learning, but does not affect the overall IQ of an individual”

The nature of this definition is backed by the other sources that I found and listed on the coversheet for dealing with this feedback.

Our overview content on spina bifida mentions learning difficulties on its symptoms page too, yet the overview page links to our learning disabilities content. Our overview content says “Most people with spina bifida have normal intelligence”.

Hence I’ve seen nothing to suggest that we’re wrong to use the term ‘learning difficulties’, over ‘learning disabilities’, we just shouldn’t be linking to our ‘learning disabilities’ page.

We do not appear to have ‘learning difficulties’ content to link to. So I recommended that we should remove the link for ‘learning disabilities’ from the link text for ‘learning difficulties’, leaving the phrase without a link.

Beyond this, NHS.UK should research user needs for learning difficulties, to consider how best the NHS website could offer content on it, including how best to differentiate between it and learning disabilities.

[sarawilcox]

Mencap says: A learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability and difficulty with everyday activities – for example household tasks, socialising or managing money – which affects someone for their whole life.

People with a learning disability tend to take longer to learn and may need support to develop new skills, understand complicated information and interact with other people.

A learning disability is different from a learning difficulty as a learning difficulty does not affect general intellect.

There are many different types of learning difficulty, some of the more well known are dyslexia, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyspraxia and dyscalculia. A person can have one, or a combination.