What Is A Learning Disability?

A learning disability affects the way children of average to above average intelligence receive, process, or express information and in most cases it lasts throughout life. Academic success requires intelligence and learning skills. A learning disability impacts the latter, impacting a child's ability to learn basic skills like reading, writing or math.

This means underlying intelligence does not convert into academic success. The Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities (CCLD), a coalition of national organizations within the learning disabilities community, defines a learning disability as "a neurobiological disorder in which a person's brain works or is structured differently."

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), used by psychologists and medical doctors, doesn't list "learning disability," but describes disorders in reading, mathematics, and written expression. Academic achievement, as measured by standardized tests, must be substantially below expectations for the child's chronological age, intelligence, and age-appropriate education.

Note, the formal Specific Learning Disability definition used in the IDEA law (2004), used by States to determine IEP eligibility, has more detailed criteria, and also covers measurement requirement.
Specific Learning Disabilities definition

Learning Disabilities: What To Look For

Learning disabilities, sometimes referred to as LD, are not the same as mental retardation, hearing or visual impairment, physical disabilities, emotional disorders, or the normal process of learning a second language. Learning disabilities aren't caused by lack of educational opportunities, such as frequent changes of schools, poor school attendance, or lack of instruction in basic skills.

Look for a gap
A learning disability is often best defined as a gap in achievement. For instance, if a child is good at math, but struggles in reading, that is indicative of a learning disability. This particular example suggests that intelligence is normal, as seen in math aptitude, but that a disability is impacting the ability to read.

Difficulty with basic reading and language skills are the most common learning disabilities. LD may be inherited. Girls are affected as frequently as boys. Kids don't outgrow or get cured of LD. With support and intervention, kids with learning disabilities can be successful in learning and life.

Processing Difficulties

Specific learning disabilities are believed to be caused by problems the child has processing information. In other words, while students with specific learning disabilities almost always hear and see normally, they have trouble understanding or using what they see or hear (National Joint Committee for Learning Disabilities).

Although the students often do well in some school subjects, they usually have extreme difficulty with certain skills such as decoding (reading) words, calculating math facts, or getting their thoughts into writing. As a result, they lag significantly behind their peers in these skills. It may take longer for some students who have learning disabilities to process written information.

Lengthy reading or writing assignments and tests may be difficult to complete in a standard amount of time. This may be due to difficulty discriminating numerals or letters because they appear jumbled or reversed. Inconsistencies between knowledge and test scores are also common.