What are Learning Disabilities?

What are Learning Disabilities?

Learning disabilities are disorders that affect a person's ability to understand or use language, perform mathematical operations, or develop specific academic skills. These difficulties are not due to intellectual disability but are inherent challenges that individuals face in their learning processes.

• Dyslexia: This is a common learning disability characterized by difficulties with reading and writing.
• Dyscalculia: Individuals with this disability have trouble with math, struggling with concepts like numbers, calculations, and logic.
• Dysgraphia: This learning disability affects a person's handwriting ability and fine motor skills.
• ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a condition that affects a person's ability to focus, stay organized, and complete tasks.
• Dyspraxia: This is a neurological disorder that affects an individual's motor skill development.

What are Some Other Types of Learning Disabilities?

There are several other types of learning disabilities that affect different aspects of learning and processing information. These include:

• Auditory Processing Disorder: This affects how sound travels through the ear and is processed or interpreted by the brain.
• Language Processing Disorder: This is a type of learning disability that impacts an individual's ability to attach meaning to sound groups that form words, sentences, and stories.
• Nonverbal Learning Disabilities: These are characterized by a significant discrepancy between higher verbal skills and weaker motor, visual-spatial, and social skills.
• Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor Deficit: This affects the understanding of information that a person sees, or the ability to draw or copy.

What are the Signs of Learning Disabilities?

Learning disabilities can manifest in various ways, depending on the specific type of disability. Some common signs include problems with reading, writing, or math, poor memory, trouble paying attention, difficulty following directions, clumsiness, trouble telling time, and problems staying organized.

What Causes Learning Disabilities?

Learning disabilities can be caused by a number of factors, including lack of oxygen during childbirth, head trauma, premature birth, early childhood illnesses, accidents, and seizures. It's important to note that these are potential causes and not every individual with a learning disability will have experienced these conditions.

How are Learning Disabilities Diagnosed?

A combination of medical and educational assessments can diagnose learning disabilities. These assessments evaluate a child's developmental, cognitive, and academic performance to identify any significant discrepancies between their academic skills and their age or grade level.

What is Neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity is a term used to describe differences in how brains function. It's a viewpoint that brain differences are normal, rather than deficits. Neurodiversity encompasses all specific learning difficulties (SpLD), including Dyslexia, ADHD, Autism, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia. Many of these conditions overlap or co-occur.

Who are Considered Neurodivergent People?

The term "neurodivergent people" generally refers to people with learning disabilities, autistic people, and a wide variety of people whose neurology is different. The idea of neurodiversity conveys the idea that there is no single right way of thinking, learning, or behaving.