He missed the companionship of his brother and the regular visits of his friends. His brother always stood up for Paul, and Paul's own social activities had relied considerably on Mark's support. Paul began to wet the bed regularly, and one day he smeared faeces on the bathroom wall. One day he got lost on the way home from his part-time job. His mother was so worried about him that she went to talk to Paul's GP about him and he referred him to the Specialist Community Learning Disability Service.
People looking after someone with learning disability who is depressed usually want to know why.
The reasons differ from one person to the next, and often there is more than one cause. Although depression sometimes strikes out of the blue, it is often triggered by some unhappy event such as a bereavement, or a favourite carer leaving. These events affect most people with learning disability at some time, although not everyone gets depressed. Sometimes one loss can then lead on to other major changes. For example, after parents have died, people with learning disability are often moved to emergency residential care.