Problems, problems: you are such a problem!

A learning disability discourse has developed over time and is driven by social policy and professional power. Landmark legislation such as the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 has promoted public accessibility for disabled and disenfranchised people. The social construction of difference and disability contributes to the ways people with learning disability are seen and described by others. Many professionals tell stories about their experiences of working with people who are learning disabled. Some stories construct the people with learning disabilities as heroic and tragic, but most construct them as problems to be solved. This qualitative study demonstrates that learning disability constructions in practice-based stories are not merely postcards from the past but indicators of the present and are a demonstration of the issues facing learning disability nurses. I argue that there are tensions in the way learning disability is constructed and ultimately communicated by learning disability nurses.