What Does It Mean To Have A Learning Disability

Learning Disability Or Low Ability

A learning disability is a life-long neurobiological disorder that causes a person to have difficulty receiving, storing, processing, and producing information- in spite of average ability. Low ability refers to a person with a lower Intelligence Quotient or ability score and profile. Below is a explanation of Intelligence Quotient scores and profiles.

What is average?

Intelligence Quotient is a measure of academic ability using standardized testing. Numerous subtests are administered and combined into scale or index scores. Scale scores often reported are Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale. Index scores may include Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, Working Memory, Freedom from Distractibility, and Processing Speed. It should be noted that these tests do not measure creative talent, study skills or curiosity all factors that need careful consideration when interpreting results and using them to predict future academic performance.

Average ability is usually determined to be a Full Scale standard score of 90-110 and a percentile score of 25-75%. This is based on a midpoint standard score of 100 and percentile score of 50%. Half of the people tested are expected to receive IQ scores within this range.

Low average ability is a Full Scale standard score of 80-89 and a percentile score of 9-24%. According to LDAs operational definition, this range also meets the criteria of at least average for the diagnosis of a specific learning disability in adults.

What Are The Causes Of Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities can be present at birth for example, if a person has a medical, physical or neurological condition that makes it harder for them to process certain pieces of information.

Sometimes, learning disabilities are caused by external influences like someones experiences or the way they grow up. They can run in families.

You’ve Been Turning To Drugs Or Alcohol

If you’re turning to drugs as a coping mechanism, take note. “Someone who struggles with a learning disability has often been blamed for family chaos, and has been the scapegoat at work and home,” Chandler says. “Year after year, the negativity they have experienced pulls down their self-esteem. The cycle they have been trapped in may cause the person to use alcohol or drugs for relief.”

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Getting Help For Children With Learning Disabilities

When it comes to learning disabilities, its not always easy to know what to do and where to find help. Turning to specialists who can pinpoint and diagnose the problem is, of course, important. You will also want to work with your childs school to make accommodations for your child and get specialized academic help. But dont overlook your own role. You know your child better than anyone else, so take the lead in looking into your options, learning about new treatments and services, and overseeing your childs education.

Learn the specifics about your childs learning disability. Learn about your childs type of learning disability. Find out how the disability affects the learning process and what cognitive skills are involved. Its easier to evaluate learning techniques if you understand how the learning disability affects your child.

Research treatments, services, and new theories. Along with knowing about the type of learning disability your child has, educate yourself about the most effective treatment options available. This can help you advocate for your child at school and pursue treatment at home.

Pursue treatment and services at home. Even if the school doesnt have the resources to treat your childs learning disability optimally, you can pursue these options on your own at home or with a therapist or tutor.

What Are Signs Of A Learning Disability In My High School Student

Some symptoms of learning disabilities are:

• Exaggerated difficulty, dislike, or delay in writing, reading or computing

• Withdrawal or acting out”

• Disconnect between reading and comprehension OR comprehension and expression

• Difficulty with mental fact organization

• Frustration or apathy toward school

• Extreme disorganization or sloppy work

Of course, just because a student may be frustrated with a class or have poor handwriting, doesnt mean they have a learning disability. But, especially if several signs are present at once, this list can help you uncover the truth.

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What Causes Learning Disabilities

A learning disability happens when a person’s brain development is affected, either before they’re born, during their birth or in early childhood.

This can be caused by things such as:

• the mother becoming ill in pregnancy
• problems during the birth that stop enough oxygen getting to the brain
• the unborn baby inheriting certain genes from its parents that make having a learning disability more likely known as inherited learning disability
• illness, such as meningitis, or injury in early childhood

Sometimes there’s no known cause for a learning disability.

Some conditions are associated with having a learning disability because people with these conditions are more likely to have one.

For example, everyone with Down’s syndrome has some kind of learning disability, and so do many people with cerebral palsy.

People with autism may also have learning disabilities, and around 30% of people with epilepsy have a learning disability.

You’ve Always Been Bad At Reading Or Bad At Math

With learning disabilities such as dyslexia, which can affect reading and writing, or dyscalculia, which can affect your ability to do math, you might be convinced you’re stupid. But that is not the case. “It is important to recognize that learning disabilities have nothing to do with intelligence,”clinical psychologist Dr. Mayra Mendez, PhD, tells Bustle. “A person struggling with learning differences may score extremely well on an IQ test, but still have trouble working with number sequences, spelling accurately, and comprehending reading passages.”

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Treatment For Learning Disabilities

There is no medication or medical treatment to help improve a learning disability, however studies show that children with comorbid ADHD and LDs see improvement in both when following a treatment plan that includes ADHD medication. In addition, educational strategies can be incorporated into your childs classroom or, based on the level of disability, your child might begin special education classes.

What Is The Difference Between A Learning Disability And A Mental Health Problem

A learning disability is a permanent condition developing at the latest in early childhood, whereas mental illness can develop at any time, and is not necessarily permanent. People can get better and resolve mental health problems with help and treatment.

Whilst mental health problems can be treated through therapy, social support, medication, or a combination of these, people with learning disabilities are not treated but rather receive support which enables them to most effectively and happily lead their lives. Anyone can develop a mental health problem at any stage of their life, which means that they must be given the necessary support to deal with it, and ideally to prevent it from occurring at all.

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What Does It Mean To Have A Learning Disability

Most peoples learning disability occurs from birth or a childhood illness and the effects are life-long. It’s important that people find the right, personalised support to lead a full and interesting life and have the same opportunities as everyone else.

Learning disabilities are many and varied. Most people recognise some of the better known syndromes such as Downs syndrome, Rett syndrome and Fragile X, but there are lots more and some people may not have a name or known cause of their learning disability.

A learning disability can affect someone in a wide variety of ways. The terms mild, severe and profound learning disability are sometimes used. Some people with learning disabilities live independently without much support whereas others require 24 hour care to perform most daily living skills. .

People with autistic spectrum disorders may also receive support through learning disability services, however they may have different types of support needs than people with learning disabilities will have.

Autistic Spectrum Disorder

Autistic Spectrum Disorders are developmental conditions present from birth and last throughout a persons life. These conditions are diagnosed by identifying Wings and Goulds triad of behavioural impairments:

• impaired social interaction
• impaired imagination.

Autism affects approximately 1% of the population in the UK

People with more complex needs

Sometimes the term Profound, Multiple Learning Disabilities is used.

Adhd And Learning Disabilities

Learning involves using the executive functions of the brain particularly the ability to focus, pay attention, engage with a task, and use working memory. We know that ADHD affects the executive functions of the brain. In fact, Dr. Barkley says an accurate name for ADHD could be “Developmental Disorder of Executive Functioning.”

Many people with ADHD can struggle with learning and schoolwork because of the executive function problems related to their ADHD, yet they do not have enough of an impairment to be diagnosed with an LD.

When a person has co-existing conditions of ADHD and LD it means they have the broad impairment of executive functions combined with the impairment of the particular skills needed for reading, writing, and math.

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Examples Of Learning Disability In A Sentence

learning disabilityThe Enquirerlearning disabilityPEOPLE.comlearning disability Arkansas Onlinelearning disabilityCNNlearning disabilityTimelearning disabilityCNNlearning disabilityBostonGlobe.comlearning disabilityajc

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word ‘learning disability.’ Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

What To Do If Your Child Is Diagnosed With A Specific Learning Disability

• Get to Know Your Childs Specific Diagnosis

  The more you know about your childs specific learning disability, the more you can do to help. Develop a deep understanding of your childs diagnosis, as well as his or her strengths.

  For more information on specific diagnoses, see Churchills learning disability guides, including:

• What is Dyscalculia?

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How Could I Miss My Teens Learning Disability For So Long

If they have an undiagnosed learning disorder, your student has probably been using their scholastic strengths to compensate. Students often compensate by:

• writing sloppily to cover up spelling problems

• adopting a lazy demeanor to cover up lack of skill

• making you believe he can do a task when he really cant

• memorizing information to make up for not being able to calculate or read it

• recognizing context and patterns to get right answers

• picking up knowledge from TV, social interaction, or other sources outside school

Auditory And Visual Processing Problems: The Importance Of The Ears And Eyes

The eyes and the ears are the primary means of delivering information to the brain, a process sometimes called input. If either the eyes or the ears arent working properly, learning can suffer.

Auditory processing disorder Professionals may refer to the ability to hear well as auditory processing skills or receptive language. The ability to hear things correctly greatly impacts the ability to read, write, and spell. An inability to distinguish subtle differences in sound make it difficult to sound out words and understand the basic concepts of reading and writing.

Visual processing disorder Problems in visual perception include missing subtle differences in shapes, reversing letters or numbers, skipping words, skipping lines, misperceiving depth or distance, or having problems with eyehand coordination. Professionals may refer to the work of the eyes as visual processing. Visual perception can affect motor skills, reading comprehension, and math.

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Learning Disabilities In Language

Language and communication learning disabilities involve the ability to understand or produce spoken language. Language is also considered an output activity because it requires organizing thoughts in the brain and calling upon the right words to verbally explain or communicate something.

Signs of a language-based learning disorder involve problems with verbal language skills, such as the ability to retell a story, the fluency of speech, and the ability to understand the meaning of words, directions, and the like.

Not All Great Minds Think Alike

Did you know that Albert Einstein couldn’t read until he was nine? Walt Disney, General George Patton, and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller had trouble reading all their lives. Whoopi Goldberg and Charles Schwab and many others have learning disabilities which haven’t affected their ultimate success.

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National Joint Committee On Learning Disabilities

About this Document

This statement was developed by the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities . Representatives of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association were Rhonda S. Work, Chair Mabel L. Rice Stan Dublinske, ex officio. Ann L. Carey, 19881990 vice president for professional and governmental affairs was the monitoring vice president. Other member organizations of the NJCLD include the Association on Handicapped Student Services Programs in Postsecondary Education Council for Learning Disabilities Division for Children with Communication Disorders Division for Learning Disabilities International Reading Association Learning Disabilities Association of America National Association of School Psychologists and Orton Dyslexia Society. This statement was approved by the ASHA Legislative Council in November 1989 . NOTE: This statement could not be published until other members of the NJCLD had approved the document.

Enactment of the Education For All Handicapped Children Act mandated changes in the assessment and education of individuals with varying disabilities. The Act provides the basis for securing a systematic methodology for the identification, assessment, and education of children and youth with disabilities. Of specific interest to the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities are those individuals identified categorically within the Law as having learning disabilities.

You Get Angry & Don’t Know Why

When dealing with a frustrating issue like a learning disability, you might feel annoyed and impatient throughout the day. And this, among other things, can cause you to lash out in anger. “Anger may be part of the behaviors seen in adults with learning disabilities,” says Chandler. “They may experience less inhibition and may get angry quicker than others.”

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Learning Disorders In Children

Find information and resources for people with developmental and behavioral disabilities

Many children may struggle in school with some topics or skills from time to time. When children try hard and still struggle with a specific set of skills over time, it could be a sign of a learning disorder. Having a learning disorder means that a child has difficulty in one or more areas of learning, even when overall intelligence or motivation is not affected.

Some of the symptoms of learning disorders are

• Difficulty telling right from left
• Reversing letters, words, or numbers, after first or second grade
• Difficulties recognizing patterns or sorting items by size or shape
• Difficulty understanding and following instructions or staying organized
• Difficulty remembering what was just said or what was just read
• Lacking coordination when moving around
• Difficulty doing tasks with the hands, like writing, cutting, or drawing
• Difficulty understanding the concept of time

Examples of learning disorders include

• Dyslexia difficulty with reading
• Dyscalculia difficulty with math
• Dysgraphia difficulty with writing

Signs And Symptoms Of Learning Disabilities: Ages 10

• Difficulty with reading comprehension or math skills.
• Trouble with open-ended test questions and word problems.
• Dislikes reading and writing avoids reading aloud.
• Poor handwriting.

• Poor organizational skills .
• Trouble following classroom discussions and expressing thoughts aloud.
• Spells the same word differently in a single document.

Paying attention to developmental milestones can help you identify learning disorders

Paying attention to normal developmental milestones for toddlers and preschoolers is very important. Early detection of developmental differences may be an early signal of a learning disability and problems that are spotted early can be easier to correct.

A developmental lag might not be considered a symptom of a learning disability until your child is older, but if you recognize it when your child is young, you can intervene early. You know your child better than anyone else does, so if you think there is a problem, it doesnt hurt to get an evaluation. You can also ask your pediatrician for a developmental milestones chart or access one in the Get more help section below.

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Language Difficulty Or Disability

Language difficulties are not always language disabilities. In order for a student to be eligible for special education services guided by an individualized education plan , he or she must be diagnosed with a disability. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act , a language-based learning disability is considered a specific learning disability . A diagnosis of SLD means the student’s difficulties are not the result of:

• environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage
• difficulty acquiring English as a second language
• a motor disability
• a visual or hearing acuity problem
• impaired cognitive function

Learning Disabilities In Reading

There are two types of learning disabilities in reading. Basic reading problems occur when there is difficulty understanding the relationship between sounds, letters and words. Reading comprehension problems occur when there is an inability to grasp the meaning of words, phrases, and paragraphs.

Signs of reading difficulty include problems with:

• Letter and word recognition.
• General vocabulary skills.

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