Learning Disability Definition

Learning disabilities occur in very young children, yet they are usually not noticed until the child reaches school age. Learning disabilities can be lifelong conditions. In some people, several overlapping learning disabilities may occur. Other people may have a single, isolated learning problem that has little impact on their lives.

The most common treatment for learning disabilities is special education. Specially trained teachers may perform a formal assessment to understand the child's academic and intellectual potential. They will also look at the level of academic performance. Once the evaluation is complete, the basic approach is to teach learning skills by building on the child's abilities and strengths while correcting disabilities and weaknesses. Other professionals such as speech and language therapists also may help. Some medications may help the child learn by enhancing attention and concentration. Psychological therapies may also be used.

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Consider participating in a clinical trial so clinicians and scientists can learn more about learning disabilities and related disorders. Clinical research uses human volunteers to help researchers learn more about a disorder and perhaps find better ways to safely detect, treat, or prevent disease.

For information about participating in clinical research visit NIH Clinical Research Trials and You. Learn about clinical trials currently looking for people with learning disabilities at Clinicaltrials.gov.

A specific learning disability is a disorder in one or more of the central nervous system processes involved in perceiving, understanding, and/or using concepts through verbal (spoken or written) language or nonverbal means. This disorder manifests itself with a deficit in one or more of the following areas: attention, reasoning, processing, memory, communication, reading, writing, spelling, calculation, coordination, social competence and emotional maturity.

Often people assume that students with learning disabilities are unmotivated and unintelligent. Many question whether these students can succeed in college. In reality, students with learning disabilities are not intellectually limited nor are they unmotivated. They have the potential to succeed in higher education. The student's problems are associated with information processing, whereby the information received or transmitted is distorted.

Common instructional methods, such as lectures, are often inadequate for the student's learning needs. Alternative methods will increase the student's academic performance, as well as decrease his or her frustration in learning situations.

Learning disabilities may be defined in practical, medical and legal terms. The common theme in all three definitions is that a learning disability is a disorder in one or more basic psychological processes that may manifest itself as an imperfect ability in certain areas of learning, such as reading, written expression, or mathematics.

Cognitive assessment, including psychoeducational or neuropsychological evaluation, is of critical importance in diagnosing a learning disability. Learning disabilities may be diagnosed by qualified school or educational psychologists, by clinical psychologists, and by clinical neuropsychologists who are trained and experienced in the assessment of learning disabilities.

Enactment of the Education For All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142) 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 (NJCLD) are those individuals identified categorically within the Law as having learning disabilities.

Federal regulations state that an individual may have a learning disability when a severe discrepancy exists between achievement and intellectual ability in one or more of the following areas: oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skills, reading comprehension, mathematical calculation, and mathematical reasoning. While the law and regulations have specified the areas of deficits that constitute learning disabilities, there remain widespread problems with the definition, methods for identifying the individuals to be served, and problems in delineating the assessment team's membership and responsibilities. The following statement of the NJCLD addresses problems resulting from the Federal definition of learning disabilities.

While other definitions of learning disabilities exist among different professional organizations and state education agencies, it was the NACHC definition that provided the basis for legislation and funding that resulted in the establishment of education programs for children with learning disabilities and programs for the preparation of professionals. Numerous positive effects have been realized through the definition and general goals of PL 94-142. However, interpretation of the definition has resulted in a series of problems that have affected theoretical and service-delivery issues in learning disabilities. Some of these issues include the following:

The Federal definition of learning disabilities frequently has been misinterpreted. This has led many people to regard those with learning disabilities as a homogeneous group of individuals. This conclusion is clearly erroneous. The definition also has led to the belief that a standard approach to assessment and educational management exists for individuals with learning disabilities. Practices related to identification, assessment, and remediation were keyed to this misinterpretation of the definition with resulting confusion in these areas.

Individuals with such disabilities also may evidence problems in their ability to self-regulate behaviors and demonstrate altered patterns of social perception and social interaction. The idea that these problems can exist with learning disabilities has been acknowledged by the NJCLD and is consistent with current research findings. The inclusion of this idea within the definition is, therefore, timely and contributes to a better understanding of individuals with learning disabilities. However, the NJCLD does not believe or support the argument that problems of self-regulation, social perception and/or interaction alone constitute a learning disability.

The NJCLD believes that the idea of central nervous system dysfunction as a basis for learning disabilities is appropriate. This must not, however, restrict the identification of a learning disability to the physician. In fact, many individuals with manifest central nervous system dysfunction, such as individuals with cerebral palsy, do not necessarily evidence learning disorders. For the individual with learning disabilities, evidence of central nervous system dysfunction may or may not be elicited during the course of a medicalneurological examination. The critical elements in the diagnosis of learning disabilities are elicited during psychological, educational and/or language assessments.

The NJCLD supports the idea that learning disabilities are not the primary and direct result of other disabilities and should not be so confused. However, the NJCLD notes specifically that learning disabilities may occur concomitantly with other disabilities. Although these individuals may be served educationally through different service modes, a denial of the existence of significant learning disabilities will result in inappropriate assessment and educational instruction and can result in the denial of direct or indirect professional services.

Learning disabilities is a general term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities. These disorders are intrinsic to the individual, presumed to be due to central nervous system dysfunction, and may occur across the life span. Problems in self-regulatory behaviors, social perception, and social interaction may exist with learning disabilities but do not by themselves constitute a learning disability. Although learning disabilities may occur concomitantly with other handicapping conditions (for example, sensory impairment, mental retardation, serious emotional disturbance), or with extrinsic influences (such as cultural differences, insufficient or inappropriate instruction), they are not the result of those conditions or influences.

NOTES: In January 1981, the NJCLD developed a new definition of learning disabilities that was adopted by all member organizations except the Learning Disabilities Association of America. The 1981 definition read as follows:

Learning disabilities is a generic term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities. These disorders are intrinsic to the individual and presumed to be due to central nervous system dysfunction. Even though a learning disability may occur concomitantly with other handicapping conditions (e.g., sensory impairment, mental retardation, social and emotional disturbance), or environmental influences (e.g., cultural differences, insufficient/inappropriate instruction, psychogenic factors), it is not the direct result of those conditions or influences.

In the following years, the NJCLD continued to review the literature and practice related to defining and identifying individuals with learning disabilities. As a result of new information available in the literature, the NJCLD revised its 1981 definition. The revised definition has been formally adopted as the official definition of learning disabilities by the following NJCLD member organizations: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Council for Learning Disabilities, Division for Children with Communication Disorders, International Reading Association, National Association of School Psychologists, and Orton Dyslexia Society. The Learning Disabilities Association has not adopted the revised definition and the Division for Learning Disabilities has taken no action on the definition. e24fc04721