With pressure on learning disability services increasing, there is a growing need to develop quick methods of screening for intellectual disability that can help to protect limited resources. Donna Paxton and colleagu describe a study that compares two such techniques

As demands on learning disability services grow and client waiting times get longer there is increasing interest in the use of screening tools (Bliss 2002). This pressure on services, combined with a move towards needs-led service provision (Scottish Executive 2000), can result in referrals that fail to meet the criteria for learning disability. Clinicians may then feel under pressure to become gatekeepers for their service.