What is a Learning Disability?

A learning disability is a disorder of development. It results from a difference in the way a person's brain develops and matures. Children and adults with learning disabilities may have difficulties with understanding, reading, writing, spelling, reasoning, remembering and organizing information in ways that help them cope independently with everyday life.

It can be caused by a number of factors including pre or postnatal brain damage, inherited factors, some illnesses such as rubella, phenylketonuria, encephalitis.

A learning disability can't be cured or fixed; it is a lifelong issue. As a disorder of development it is not necessarily static. Delayed development does not meen arrested development. With time the right support and intervention, children and adults with learning disabilities can succeed in school and in life beyond early expectations. They need more time than the majority of people to reach their full potential.

Parents can help children with learning disabilities achieve success by encouraging their strengths, knowing their weaknesses, understanding how the education system operates and working constructively with professionals. It is also important to identify specific difficulties and to learn about strategies for dealing with them.

Common learning disabilities

• Dyslexia; a language-based disability in which a person has trouble understanding written words. It may also be referred to as reading disability or reading disorder. Dyslexia is often associated with:
• Dysgraphia; a writing disability in which a person finds it hard to form letters or write within a defined space.
• Dyscalculia; a mathematical disability in which a person has difficulty grasping mathematical concepts and solving simple arithmetical problems.
• Auditory and Visual Processing Disorders; sensory disabilities in which a person has difficulty understanding language despite normal hearing and vision.
• Nonverbal Learning Disabilities: a neurological disorder which originates in the right hemisphere of the brain, causing problems with visual-spatial, intuitive, organizational, evaluative and central executive processing functions.

Learning Difficulties & Physical Disability

Learning disabilities and physical disabilities are two separate issues. Not all learning disabled people have a physical disability and vice-versa. It is important to remember not to make assumptions about people in wheelchairs or anybody else for that matter. Disabled people are individuals first and disabled second.