["British Journal of Learning Disabilities, Volume 54, Issue 1, Page 59-64, March 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\n\nBackground\nWithin both the mainstream and the intellectual disability sectors, there is a current focus on the predicted impacts of an ‘ageing’ population, and how to best respond to emerging support issues. However, one of the fundamental questions pivotal to determining when interventions should begin remains unanswered; when does ‘ageing’ commence for people with intellectual disabilities?\n\n\nAim\nThis commentary aims to stimulate discussion around the definition of ageing by proposing a different way to conceptualise a commencement point. Working retrospectively from a given cohort's life expectancy figure, the commencement of ageing is argued to be the point from which age‐related health comorbidities significantly impact that population.\n\n\nConclusions\nIt is not suggested that this approach is the answer to defining the commencement of ageing; instead, it is proposed as a different way to conceptualise ageing for people with intellectual disabilities to facilitate meaningful comparisons with mainstream peer cohorts.\n"]