ABSTRACT
Intellectual disability is lifelong and reduces the chances of employment and independent living. Two criteria have to be met for a diagnosis of intellectual or learning disability to be made: significant impairment of intellectual functioning (below 70 Intelligent Quotient (IQ)) and concurrent deficits or impairments in adaptive functioning. The severity of intellectual disability is graded from mild to profound depending on the IQ: Mild Intellectual Disability: IQ between 50 and 70; Moderate Intellectual Disability: IQ between 35 and 50; and Severe Intellectual Disability: IQ between 20 and 35. Children with mild to moderate intellectual disability require a service that is firmly based on their educational, social and mental health needs. A psychosocial model of service delivery rather than rather a mental health model is likely to meet these needs better. The chapter presents an important message that Ashley's case conveys is that the impairments in mild intellectual (learning) disabilities may not be mild at all.
