Health · England
Your learning disability health team
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This guide is for people in England.
You can read it with someone you trust.
Your area may have a learning disability health team.
It offers specialist health support.
Ask your GP how to contact it.
Different workers help with different needs.
The team may include nurses and therapists.
Ask what your local team offers.
You may need a referral to the team.
A referral asks the team to assess your needs.
Some teams let you contact them yourself.
Local teams have different rules about who they help.
Being on your GP’s register does not guarantee team support.
Ask staff to explain the rules.
Explain what is difficult and what has changed.
Say how you communicate.
Tell the team what help you want.
You can still use ordinary NHS services.
Ask for changes that help you access them.
Do not wait for this team if you become unwell.
Ask for appointments that work for you.
You can ask someone you trust to come.
You should get support to make your own decisions.
Ask for a clear plan.
Check who will do each action.
Ask when you will review it.
Ask for reasons if the team cannot help.
Ask which service can meet your needs.
You can ask how to challenge the decision.
What you can do next
Contact your GP or local NHS learning disability service.
Ask about the referral route for your area.
See an NHS community team example Web pageThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- Kent: team and accessible self-referral Web page
A local NHS example, not a referral route for every area.
- Lancashire and South Cumbria: referral criteria Web page
Shows the distinction between the GP register and specialist-team eligibility.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Your community learning disability team
Find specialist community health support and understand referrals, local criteria and shared care.
Community health services · England · Age limits and referral arrangements vary locally
What the team is for
A community learning disability team is often shortened to CLDT. It brings together professionals who understand how learning disability can affect access to healthcare and support. The team may assess a particular health difficulty, offer treatment or help other services make care accessible. Some services work closely with council social care, but health treatment and a council care assessment remain different processes. Ask which organisation runs your team and what it is commissioned to provide.
Who may be in the team
Teams can include learning disability nurses, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists and psychiatrists. Some include other professionals or link to separate specialist services. Their roles differ: communication, swallowing, movement, mental health and daily activities may need different assessments. Not every team has every profession. Describe your need first, then ask which professional or service is best placed to help.
Find your local route
Ask your GP, current clinician or council learning disability service for the local team’s contact details. Check the NHS service’s own website for referral information. Some accept referrals from you, relatives or supporters; others require a professional referral. For example, Kent accepts self-referrals, while criteria and processes elsewhere differ. Ask for an accessible form or help explaining the problem. A referral is a request for assessment, not a promise of a particular treatment.
Eligibility is separate from other registers
Local services have criteria about age, area, learning disability and the specialist health need. Being on the GP learning disability register does not automatically mean the CLDT will accept a referral. Equally, a team refusing a referral does not remove your right to seek ordinary healthcare and reasonable adjustments. Autism, ADHD or learning difficulties alone may not meet a specialist learning disability service’s criteria; ask which appropriate service can help with the actual need.
Make the referral useful
Explain what is difficult, when it started, what has changed and the effect on everyday life. Include communication and sensory needs, relevant diagnoses, current health plans and what has already been tried. Ask what documents are necessary rather than sending every private record. With consent, a person who knows you well can describe your usual abilities and signs of pain or distress. State what you want help to achieve, such as eating safely or attending an appointment.
Know what happens while you wait
Ask for confirmation that the referral arrived, the expected next step and how urgency is assessed. Agree who you should contact if circumstances change. Keep your GP and existing clinicians involved; the CLDT does not replace prescriptions, urgent medical assessment or all other treatment. New symptoms should not be assumed to be caused by learning disability. If someone becomes seriously unwell, use the appropriate urgent service rather than waiting for a specialist appointment.
Take part in the assessment
Ask about the place, length and format of appointments and whether a home visit is possible where needed. Explain how you communicate choices, discomfort or disagreement. You can ask for Easy Read information, breaks, familiar support and adjustments to the setting. Assessment should look at your own goals and what affects the difficulty, including physical health, the environment and the support you receive. A learning disability does not establish inability to consent.
Ask for one coordinated plan
If several professionals are involved, ask for a named contact and a plan showing who does what. Request practical explanations, training for relevant supporters and a review date. Ask how progress will be judged and who can change a recommendation. Check that information reaches your GP and other involved services with appropriate consent or another lawful basis. Specialist advice is less useful if nobody is responsible for putting it into practice.
If the referral is declined or support ends
Request the reason, the criteria used and the alternative service that can meet the need. Ask your referrer whether important information was missing and whether a review is appropriate. You can contact the provider’s patient advice or complaints service about unresolved problems. When input ends, ask what has been achieved, what continues, who now leads and how to return if needs change. For young people, plan the move to adult services before the children’s team closes its work.
Words you could use
“Please tell me how to contact my local learning disability team, which needs it can assess and who will support me while I wait.”
More useful links
- Kent: team and accessible self-referral Web page
A local NHS example, not a referral route for every area.
- Lancashire and South Cumbria: referral criteria Web page
Shows the distinction between the GP register and specialist-team eligibility.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 1 November 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- Kent Community Health NHS: learning disability team Web page
Team roles, specialist support, self-referral and local age criteria.
- Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS: specialist referrals Web page
Local specialist eligibility, unmet needs and the separate GP register.
- NHS England: reasonable adjustments Web page
Ordinary health services must address disability-related barriers.
- NHS England: learning disability register Web page
Primary care register and related support.
- NHS: Mental Capacity Act Web pageFuller information
Consent and support for the particular decision.