Ability and dependency in adolescents with severe learning disabilities

In order to investigate the abilities and care needs of adolescents with severe learning disability, the authors conducted structured interviews with parents/carers of 42 males and 29 females aged 11 to 25 years and attending a school or adult training centres in Salford, Manchester. 56 per cent of the subjects could talk in sentences and 82 per cent could walk. The ability to walk and talk well was associated with better social behaviour. Mean onset of shaving and of menarche was earlier in subjects with than without Down syndrome. Five of the females and two of the males had been abused sexually, 24 per cent of the males and 59 per cent of the females were thought by their parents to have received sex education.