Ann Stenson and Thérèse Danaher discusses approaches that can be used in making continence an integral part of health promotion among people with learning disabilities and outlines recommendations for improved practice

Incontinence tends to be viewed as integral to having severe learning disabilities (Bradley and Ferris 1995). Carers may not prioritise continence training with some of their clients, and nurses may think that clients are too old for training or that further training is unwarranted. We hope that this article, which reviews urinary rather than faecal incontinence, will inspire staff to re-consider whether people with learning disabilities may display some potential for continence training. Various training techniques will be described showing that current ability is not an appropriate reason to leave the person with incontinence.