Factors Impacting on the Capacity to Consent in People with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

Much of the discussion of capacity to consent has focused on how capacity can be assessed. However, in focusing on the assessment of capacity of people with learning disabilities, information from studies of human judgement and decision‐making in the general population has been ignored. This paper reviews the main factors that affect an individual's capacity to consent and examines the integration of research into these factors in the general population with that of people with learning disabilities. A person's capacity to consent is considered to be affected by three main processes: comprehension (ability to understand and retain information), decision‐making (ability to weigh up information and reach a decision) and communication (ability to communicate the decision made). The difficulties people with learning disabilities may have in these processes are discussed, and possible ways of overcoming these limitations are suggested.

Citation

Dye, L., Hare, D. and Hendy, S. (2003), "Factors Impacting on the Capacity to Consent in People with Learning Disabilities", Tizard Learning Disability Review, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 11-20. https://doi.org/10.1108/13595474200300023