Journal profile · EDUCATION, SPECIAL
British Journal of Learning Disabilities
ISSN 1354-4187 · eISSN 1468-3156 · Wiley-Blackwell
British Journal of Learning Disabilities: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.62; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,120; median 168 days to acceptance (82 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 26% (journal website); 58 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
British Journal of Learning Disabilities is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Family and Disability Support Research, Healthcare innovation and challenges and Disability Rights and Representation, together about 43.2% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Aims and Scope The British Journal of Learning Disabilities is an interdisciplinary international peer-reviewed journal that draws contributions from a wide community of international researchers. The journal is committed to dialogue with people with learning disabilities (and with their families, carers, allies and advocates). It encompasses contemporary debate/s and developments in research, policy and practice that are relevant to the lives of people with learning disabilities. Learning disabilities here refers to intellectual (global) disabilities and not to specific learning disabilities like dyslexia. The journal’s scope includes: activism and advocacy communication, interaction and relationships community lives and quality of life education and employment families and advocacy health and wellbeing policy, law and rights profound and multiple learning disabilities/additional needs research methods and inclusive research social care and professional roles. The journal publishes original papers, commissioned keynote reviews on major topics, and book/resource reviews with some Special Issues giving comprehensive coverage to specific subject areas. The editor welcomes suggestions of topics and guest editors for future Special Issues. In Response articles are commissioned to provide feedback on the issues arising in the journal papers and their relevance for the lives of people with learning disabilities and those supporting them. The international audience for British Journal of Learning Disabilities includes academics, professionals, practitioners, people with learning disabilities and their families. Authors are expected to consider this wide readership, to communicate in an accessible manner, and to exhibit knowledge of previously-published articles when submitting their work for consideration for publication. Careful attention to respectful terminology is essential. The British Journal of Learning Disabilities is the official journal of the British Institute of Learning Disabilities. The opinions expressed in articles, whether editorials or otherwise, do not necessarily represent the official view of the British Institute of Learning Disabilities and the Institute accepts no responsibility for the quality of goods or services advertised. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement British Journal of Learning Disabilities stands alongside people with learning disabilities. It is committed to the standards of ethics and respect that self-advocates expec
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): EDUCATION, SPECIAL
Editor-in-chief Jill BradshawPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 18, Ireland 2, Germany 1, Canada 1, Australia 1 (26 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Family and Disability Support ResearchPsychology17.1%
- Healthcare innovation and challengesSocial Sciences14.1%
- Disability Rights and RepresentationSocial Sciences12.1%
- Down syndrome and intellectual disability researchMedicine10.2%
- Disability Education and EmploymentSocial Sciences4.9%
- Autism Spectrum Disorder ResearchNeuroscience3.9%
- Elder Abuse and NeglectSocial Sciences2.9%
- Healthcare Decision-Making and RestraintsPsychology2.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Education, Special | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Education, Special | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Education, Special | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePubMedPsycINFOCINAHLERICCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 1.62LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.6Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 3.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.66LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.08LetPub ·
- h-index
- 64OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 727OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.53OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 71.94%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 41LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 48Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 213,224Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,576 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 51 | 35 | 6 |
| 2025 | 58 | 41 | 35 |
| 2024 | 76 | 58 | 242 |
| 2023 | 60 | 44 | 285 |
| 2022 | 80 | 37 | 452 |
| 2021 | 83 | 37 | 712 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
168 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 124 days – 258 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 17 days (82 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 188 days
- Sample
- 82 articles with submission and acceptance dates (124 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 26%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 26%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 194 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 19 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,120 / EUR 2,620 / GBP 2,090 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 7,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Peer review, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- AI use Disclosing the use of artificial intelligence (AI)
If you or your co-authors have used Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) tools such as ChatGPT and others based on large language models (LLMs) to develop any portion of a manuscript, their use must be described transparently and in detail in the Methods section.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship
Please refer to the journal’s authorship policy the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section for details on eligibility for author listing.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of Interest Statement
Authors will be asked to provide a conflict of interest statement during the submission process. For details on what to include in this section, see the section ‘Conflict of Interest’ in the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section below. Submitting authors should ensure they liaise with all co-authors to confirm agreement with the final statement.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Accessibility
This journal expects data sharing. Review Wiley’s Data Sharing policy where you will be able to see and select the data availability statement that is right for your submission.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review and Acceptance
Manuscripts are judged on the significance of the contribution to the literature, the quality of analysis and the clarity of presentation. Papers are expected to demonstrate originality and meaningful engagement with the global literature.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint policy
Preprint policy Model summary
Wiley believes that journals publishing for communities with established pre-print servers should allow authors to submit manuscripts which have already been made available on a non-commercial preprint server. Allowing submission does not, of course, guarantee that an article will be sent out for review. It simply reflects our belief that journals should not rule out reviewing a paper simply becau…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Clinical Trial Registration
The journal requires that clinical trials are prospectively registered in a publicly accessible database and clinical trial registration numbers should be included in all papers that report their results. Authors are asked to include the name of the trial register and the clinical trial registration number at the end of the abstract. If the trial is not registered, or was registered retrospectivel…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 1354-4187
- Electronic ISSN
- 1468-3156
- Society / sponsor
- British Institute of Learning Disabilities
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 54, Issue 3 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about British Journal of Learning Disabilities
What CAS zone is British Journal of Learning Disabilities in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, British Journal of Learning Disabilities is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Education, Special. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of British Journal of Learning Disabilities?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.62; CiteScore 3.7, h-index 64.
How long does peer review take at British Journal of Learning Disabilities?
Based on the dates recorded on 82 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 168 days (interquartile range 124–258 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 26% (2025). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of British Journal of Learning Disabilities?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Manuscript length: ≤ 7,000 words; Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of British Journal of Learning Disabilities based?
Of the 26 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (18), Ireland (2) and Germany (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index British Journal of Learning Disabilities?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, British Journal of Learning Disabilities is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ERIC and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is British Journal of Learning Disabilities open access, and what is the APC?
British Journal of Learning Disabilities is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,120.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .