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Specific learning disabilities
- The Learning Disabilities Association of America and many other mental health practitioners regard the seven aforementioned disorders as specific learning disabilities.
People also ask
Is a learning disability a specific learning disorder?
Who has a learning disability?
What are the different types of learning disabilities?
How are children identified as having a learning disability?
What are the most common learning disabilities?
Mar 8, 2024 · Specific learning disability/disorder. Learning difficulties, known as specific learning disabilities (SLDs), encompass a range of disorders related to challenges in acquiring and applying academic skills (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Casali et al., 2024).
- Overview
- Types of Learning Disabilities
- Symptoms of Learning Disabilities
- Causes of Learning Disabilities
- Diagnosing Learning Disabilities
- Treating Learning Disabilities
- A Word From Verywell
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Learning disabilities are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders that can significantly hamper a person’s ability to learn new things. As a result, the person may have trouble with tasks such as speaking, reading, writing, paying attention, understanding information, remembering things, performing mathematical calculations, or coordinating movements.
Learning disabilities typically develop at a young age and are often diagnosed during the person’s school years, since the primary focus at school is learning. It is estimated that 8% to 10% of children below the age of 18 in the United States have some type of learning disability.
However, some people are not diagnosed until they attend college or get a job, and others never receive an official diagnosis, so they go through life without knowing why they have so much trouble with academics, work, relationships, and basic day-to-day tasks.
It’s important to understand that people with learning disabilities generally have average to superior intelligence and are often gifted in fields such as science, math, fine arts, and other creative mediums. The person is often bright and intelligent, but there may be a gap between their potential and the skills expected from a person of their age.
Nevertheless, some of the most accomplished and influential people in history have had learning disabilities, including Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, and Winston Churchill.
“Learning disability” is an umbrella term that encompasses many types of specific learning disorders, including:
•Dyslexia: Dyslexia is the most common learning disability, accounting for 80% of all learning disability cases. It is a language processing disorder characterized by difficulty with speaking, reading, writing, or understanding words. This can cause the person's vocabulary to develop at a slower pace and lead to issues with grammar, reading comprehension, and other language skills.
•Dysgraphia: People with dysgraphia may have difficulty putting their thoughts into writing due to issues with vocabulary, spelling, grammar, memory, and critical thinking. This condition is characterized by poor handwriting, as the person may struggle with letter spacing, spatial awareness, and motor planning. Dysgraphia can make it hard for the person to think and write simultaneously.
•Dyscalculia: Sometimes known as “math dyslexia,” this condition includes learning disorders related to mathematics, such as difficulty with numbers, concepts, and reasoning. People with dyscalculia may struggle to count money, read clocks and tell time, perform mental math calculations, identify number patterns, and apply mathematical formulae.
•Auditory processing disorder (APD): People with APD may have difficulty processing sounds because their brain misinterprets auditory information received by the ear. As a result, they may confuse the order of sounds in certain words, or they may not be able to distinguish between sounds such as the teacher’s voice and the background noise in the classroom.
•Language processing disorder (LPD): This is a subset of APD, characterized by difficulties with processing spoken language. The person may have difficulty attaching meaning to sound groups representing words, sentences, and stories.
These are some of the symptoms of learning disabilities:
•Poor memory
•Difficulty focusing
•Short attention span
•Difficulty with reading or writing
•Inability to distinguish between sounds, letters, or numbers
Learning disabilities are caused by differences in the neurological functioning of the person’s brain. These differences can occur before the person is born, during their birth, or in early childhood, and may be caused by factors such as:
•Maternal illness during pregnancy
•Birth complications that block the flow of oxygen to the baby’s brain
•Certain genes that can make the person more genetically predisposed to developing a learning disability
•Injury or illness, such as meningitis, in early childhood
•Health conditions such as cerebral palsy and Down’s syndrome often involve some extent of learning disability
A healthcare professional can diagnose learning disabilities. The diagnostic process might involve:
•Academic testing: The healthcare provider may administer a standardized achievement test that checks the person’s reading, writing, and arithmetic skills, as well as an intelligence quotient (IQ) test. If the person performs well on the IQ test but has a lower score on the achievement test, it could indicate that they have a learning disability.
•Performance review: The healthcare provider may review and evaluate the person’s academic, professional, social, and developmental performance.
•Medical history: The healthcare provider will likely ask questions about the person’s personal and family medical history.
•Physical and neurological exam: The healthcare provider may conduct a physical and neurological exam to check for other health conditions such as brain diseases, mental health conditions, and developmental and intellectual disabilities.
Every learning disability has different symptoms and everyone’s experience of the condition is unique as they may experience differences in the frequency and intensity of their symptoms.
Learning disabilities are lifelong conditions that cannot be fixed or cured; however, with timely diagnosis, treatment, and support, people with learning disabilities can be successful at school, work, and among their community.
Treatment for learning disabilities may involve:
•Special education: Children with learning disabilities may benefit from education by specially trained teachers who perform a comprehensive evaluation of the child’s abilities and then help the child build on their strengths while compensating for their disabilities.
•Medication: Some people may need to take medication to improve their ability to focus and concentrate.
•Therapy: Psychotherapy can help people with learning disabilities deal with emotional issues and develop coping skills.
•Other interventions: People with learning disabilities may also benefit from other interventions such as speech and language therapy.
Every human being is equipped with a unique set of strengths and weaknesses. All of us are able to do some things effortlessly but struggle in other areas.
It’s important to recognize that while people with learning disabilities have some challenges with learning, they are not in any way inferior to anyone else. Special education, treatment, support, kindness, and patience can help them achieve success.
11 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
1.Vidyadharan V, Tharayil HM. Learning disorder or learning disability: Time to rethink. Indian J Psychol Med. 2019;41(3):276-278. doi:10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_371_18
2.National Institute for Learning Development. What is a learning disability?
May 11, 2021 · SLD, also known as specific learning disability, is the diagnosis a doctor may give to children (and some adults) who have trouble understanding or learning information.
- Steven Rowe
May 26, 2022 · Specific learning disability does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of intellectual disability, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage. [34 CFR §300.8 (c) (10)]
Specific learning disorders (often referred to as a learning disorder or learning disability, see note on terminology) are neurodevelopmental disorders that are typically diagnosed in early school-aged children, although may not be recognized until adulthood.
Jul 31, 2024 · Yes. The terms can be used interchangeably, although sometimes we use “specific” learning disability for disabilities that affect a “specific” type of learning. For example, dyscalculia can be considered a specific learning disability because it specifically affects math.
You may also hear terms that refer to a specific type of learning disability, like dyslexia or dyscalculia. People don’t outgrow most learning disabilities. But there are strategies, supports, and teaching approaches that can help people with learning disabilities thrive.
