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What do you need help with: Learning disability

A learning disability can affect the way that some children understand information and how they communicate. This means that they might have difficulty understanding new or detailed information, learning new skills or coping with some everyday tasks.

Learning disabilities can also include conditions affecting how a child develops as well as social and emotional development and behaviour. As a parent, you are likely to notice if your child’s development at a certain age is behind that of your other children, or children that you know.

Learning disabilities can also be called ‘Intellectual Disability’, special needs, or additional needs. In nurseries and schools, the phrase ‘Additional Support Needs (ASN ) or Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is used to describe the extra help provided to children with an intellectual disability or other support needs.

How to make a referral yourself

To make a referral you will need to download and fill in one or more forms and answer questions about what you need help with. Your answers will give our clinical specialists the essential information they need. 

It helps if you can give us as much detailed information as possible, such as:

You may need to share information from a doctor, nurse, other healthcare professional, or school SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator).

Make a referral: CFHD referral form

CFHD referral form (Young person self referral)

Additional questions: learning disability

Sending the form back to us

We’d prefer that you email the form back to us at cfhd.devonspa@nhs.net.

When you email us, please make sure:

If this is tricky for you, you can print out the form, fill it in by hand, and post it back to us at: Single point of Access, 1a Capital Court, Sowton Industrial Estate, Exeter EX2 7FW