Specific Learning Disability

	PARENTS

The term learning disability is a general term that describes specific kinds of learning problems. A learning disability can cause a person to have trouble learning and using certain skills. The skills most often affected are: reading, writing, listening, speaking, reasoning, and doing math.

Educational Implications

Learning disabilities are typically not diagnosed until children reach school age because this is when formal instruction in reading, writing, math, listening, speaking, and reasoning begins. When teachers or parents notice a child is not learning as expected, the school may ask to evaluate the child to see what is causing the problem. Special education and related services as prescribed in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) can provide the supports necessary to help meet the child's unique needs.

Characteristics

Researchers think that learning disabilities are caused by differences in how a person's brain works and how it processes information. Children with learning disabilities are not 'dumb' or 'lazy.' Most children with LD have average or above average intelligence. Their brains just process information differently than their nondisabled peers. When a child has a learning disability, he or she may exhibit some of the following characteristics :

may have trouble learning the alphabet, rhyming words, or connecting letters to their sounds;
may make many mistakes when reading aloud, and repeat and pause often;
may not understand what he or she reads;
may have trouble with spelling;
may have very messy handwriting or hold a pencil awkwardly;
may struggle to express ideas in writing; may lean language late and have a limited vocabulary;
may have trouble remembering the sounds that letters make or hearing slight differences between words;
may have trouble understanding jokes, comic strips, and sarcasm;
may have trouble following directions;
may mispronounce words or use a wrong word that sounds similar;
may have trouble organizing what the or she wants to say or not be able to think of the word he or she needs for writing or conversation;
may not follow the social rules of conversation, such as taking turns, and may stand too close to the listener;
may confuse math symbols and misread numbers;
may not be able to retell a story in order; or
may not know where to begin a task or how to go on from there.

IDEA Definition


	A specific learning disability is a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations. The term includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. the term does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities; of mental retardation; of emotional disturbance; or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

Info


	For more information, visit NICHCY.

Incidence

As many as 1 out of every 5 people in the United States has a learning disability. Almost 3 million children (ages 6 through 21) have some form of a learning disability and receive special education in school. Over half of all children who receive special education in school have a learning disability.