Karen McKenzie and colleagues show how to improve communication with people with learning disabilities

There is an increasing awareness of the importance of the emotional and social lives of people with learning disability (Gardner 1997). Difficulties in interpersonal and emotional functioning have, however, long been seen as defining features of learning disability. There is a recognition that individuals with a learning disability may have greater difficulty than non-disabled people in recognising and identifying emotional states in themselves and others (Rojahn et al 1995, Walz and Benson 1996, McAlpine et al 1992). There is also some indication that these difficulties relate to the emotional component of tasks rather than the cognitive demands themselves (Rojahn et al 1995).