ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION There have always been people with learning disability. The effect such a disability will have on an individual will be determined to some extent by the degree of the disability, interacting with family support, opportunities, and the level of sophistication demanded by the society in which they live. It is likely that industrialization and ever-increasing competition have made it progressively more difficult for people with learning disability to fit in and succeed in the UK without help, although the availability and quality of help has improved considerably over the same time.
