Fundamentals of Theory and Practice Revisited: Adult Clients With Mild ‘Intellectual Disability’: Rethinking Our Assumptions

There is considerable confusion surrounding the concept of ‘intellectual disability’ and great stigma attached to this label. This paper questions whether the concept is a useful one when applied to adults with mild learning difficulties and encourages less rigidity in categorisation. Some implications of a pseudo‐medical model are examined. Counselling for adults with mild intellectual disabilities has been much neglected. Some aspects of counselling these individuals are briefly discussed: expectations; communication style; exploring the client's idea of ‘disability’; accepting versus challenging ‘disability’; importance of relationships; exploring discrimination and abuse; depression and anxiety; and the danger of assuming a lack of understanding.