Definition of LD
Introduction to Learning Disabilities
A learning disability (LD) is a neurologically-based processing problem. It is not a lack of intelligence. People with learning disabilities have average to above average intelligence, but their brains process information in a different way from the average person. Their disability is invisible, but affects many aspects of their lives.
Over 80% of learning disabilities relate to language and language processing. Others relate to the processing of numbers. People with learning disabilities may have difficulty with attention, memory, reasoning, coordination, speaking, reading, writing, spelling, calculation, social skills or emotional development.
What is a Learning Disability?
The official definition of an LD states that:
- LD affects people with normal abilities to think and reason;
- LD is not about person’s level of intelligence, it is about the fact that their brain functions differently;
- These differences result from genetics, how the brain is wired and engineered, and/or injury. They are not the result of socio-economic factors, cultural or linguistic differences, a lack of motivation or ineffective teaching;
- This different functioning of the brain affects how people process information and perceive their environment;
- LD is life-long and the way it affects a person changes during his/her life as a result of how s/he interacts with the environment around him/her; and
- LD does not affect all people the same way.
National Definition of a Learning Disability
Adopted by the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada – January 30, 2002
“Learning disabilities” refer to a number of disorders which may affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or nonverbal information. These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning. As such, learning disabilities are distinct from global intellectual deficiency.
Learning disabilities result from impairments in one or more processes related to perceiving, thinking, remembering, or learning. These include, but are not limited to: language processing; phonological processing; visual spatial processing; processing speed; memory and attention; and executive functions (e.g. planning and decision making).
Learning disabilities range in severity and may interfere with the acquisition and use of one or more of the following:
- Oral language (e.g. listening, speaking, understanding);
- Reading (e.g. decoding, phonetic knowledge, word recognition, comprehension)
- Written language (e.g. spelling and written expression); and
- Mathematics (e.g. computation, problem solving).
Learning disabilities may also involve difficulties with organizational skills, social perception, social interaction and perspective taking.
Learning disabilities are lifelong. They way in which they are expressed may vary over an individual’s lifetime, depending on the interaction demands of the environment and the individual’s strength and needs. Learning disabilities are suggested by unexpected academic underachievement or achievement which is maintained only by unusually high levels of effort and support.
Learning disabilities are also due to genetic and/or neurobiological factors or injury that alters brain functioning in a manner which affects one or more processes related to learning. These disorders are not due primarily to hearing and/or vision problems, socio-economic factors, cultural or linguistic differences, lack of motivation or ineffective teaching, although these factors may further complicate the challenges faced by individuals with learning disabilities. Learning disabilities may co-exist with various conditions including attentional, behavioural and emotional disorders, sensory impairments or other medical conditions.
For success, individuals with learning disabilities require early identification and timely specialized assessments and interventions involving home, school, community and workplace settings. The interventions need to be appropriate for each individual’s learning disability subtype and, at a minimum, include the provision of:
- Specific skill instruction;
- Accommodations;
- Compensatory strategies; and
- Self-advocacy skills
Two Sides to Learning Disabilities
There are two sides to LD: the learning side and the disability side.
Learning
The learning side focuses on the struggles with learning for people with LD, and that finding ways to learn is the key to being able to overcome the challenges of having a brain that functions differently. As learning is a life-long process, so are the challenges. To escape from the constraints of LD requires a combination of efforts that would require:
- some changes to the traditional ways of teaching at home, school or work;
- a continuous search by the individual to find learning strategies that work for him/her; and
- a supportive family.
On the learning side, the research is extensive and conclusive. The best solution is to identify the condition as early as possible and make the appropriate changes to the teaching methods so as to create the environment for the person with LD to learn.
Disability
The disability side shows up later if there is no or little success on the learning side. People with LD are not born disabled; they are born with brains that function well, but differently. The differences in brain functioning become a disability only if the learning side does not work. This is why learning is the greatest challenge and the most important key to success for people with LD. Furthermore, this is why the way that people with LD are taught at home, in school and at work, is so critically important.
Buried inside the definition of LD is the idea that people with brains that function differently perceive the world differently. This considerably complicates life for people with LD; not only do they learn differently, but they see things differently. So, the learning side needs to deal, not only with technical skills, such as reading, writing and math, it must also deal with the soft skills to best relate to the demands of the environment around them. It is this “disconnect” between how things are perceived and how they are, that contributes to the disability side.
LD is a complex condition, but with appropriate learning support and strategies, people with LD can function on a level playing field and successfully chase their dreams just like anyone else. LD that is supported unlocks a person’s human potential and creates opportunities to be productive and excel.
Without appropriate learning support and strategies, people with LD live with more stress and anxiety. Lack of support transforms into low self esteem, poor mental health, increased dependency, poor work habits, low incomes, and so on. The related research is again extensive and conclusive: behaviors seldom get better, they get worse.
The cost of not dealing with LD, to people, families and communities, is enormous and this is why dealing with LD matters.
Why Do Learning Disabilities Matter?
There are three main reasons why LD matters: its incidence, human cost, and financial cost.
Incidence
Research has concluded that between 10-20% of the total population has an LD. This range cuts across all socio-economic, age and ethnic groups, and both genders. In Alberta, this translates into a range between 330,000 and 660,000 people with some form of LD.
Human Cost
If ways are not found for people to learn effectively, the human costs are overwhelming. The simplest, and yet maybe most profound way to describe the human cost of LD is the loss of human potential. Any loss of human potential has a ripple effect to the family and community.
LD locks in human potential which cannot be unlocked until ways are found to learn effectively. In the absence of finding these ways, the human potential stays locked in. The person becomes disabled. There are many variables, specific to the person and their unique situation, which affect how well a person with a LD navigates life. An LD that has not been identified and supported will generate an increased level of situational stress which can become unmanageable. Without the right tools, many negative things can happen: increased probability of mental illness, incarceration, poor life choices, underemployment, dependence on the social welfare system, drug abuse, and so. The cost to people, families and communities is enormous.
This is real human tragedy. It is even more so when the best solution lies within the learning system over which we have some control. If the system can be designed to identify the condition early and provide appropriate learning support, the scale of the tragedy would be much smaller and eventually, non-existent.
Financial Cost
The financial cost to everyone is enormous. In 2001, the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada commissioned a study to the Roeher Institute which examined direct and indirect costs to individuals with LD (and their families) and costs to public (and private) programs.
The research concluded that:
- the cost of LD per person, from birth to retirement, is approximately $444,274 in 2001 dollars;
- people with LD and their families shoulder 55.2% of the costs and public programs fund the remaining 44.8%; and
- assuming an LD incidence rate of 10%, the cost of LD to all individuals with LD, their families and public and private programs in Canada is estimated to be approximately $1,400 billion in 2001 dollars.
Even though the financial cost is staggering, it is not the most important reason that LD matters. The most important reason is that dealing with LD is a matter of social justice and values. This is why LD matters.