Since adults with an intellectual disability are accessing not only adult education but the workforce and recreation centres as part of government policies towards greater inclusion, it should be in the interest of educators and workplace trainers to understand more about this particular impairment and its impact on learning. This article considers both intellectual disability, and learning and then describes how these concepts were used to develop the Partner Assisted Learning System--this being the end product of a three year research and development project instigated by Deakin University and Gawith Villa Inc to look for ways to incorporate participatory learning into the everyday experiences of people with an intellectual disability in adult education, recreation and the workplace.