If you are confused and want to know the difference between Learning Disability and Learning Difficulty, read this post. You will learn that they are not the same, and you will find out the differences.
Blogs, videos, Pinterest or Instagram posts are full of information and advice on Special Needs.
Never before have we had access to so much advice, recommendation or guidelines.
Still, it might get confusing sometimes, seeing so many names and terms.
In this post, I want to discuss the difference between a Learning Disability and a Learning Difficulty.
I will also discuss whether the two “conditions” have anything to do with developmental disorders or mental health.
By the end of this post, you should have no doubts about the difference between a Learning Disability and a Learning Difficulty.
Confusion #1 – US vs UK
It might surprise you that Learning Disability and Learning Difficulty don’t mean the same thing in the UK and the US.
Having seen issues with chips vs crisps or garbage vs rubbish, we might have to be aware of where the information comes from when we search the internet for answers, information or advice.
In this post, I will focus on the UK’s terminology because this is where I’m writing from. Fear not. I will clarify if you are reading it in the US too!
What we call a Learning Disability in the UK is known as an Intellectual Disability in the US.
And British term: “Learning Difficulty” will be known as “Learning Disability” in the US.
You can see that both countries use the term “Learning Disability” to name two different types of conditions. You will soon read about what they are.
What is a Learning Disability?
What is it?
Learning Disability, also known as an Intellectual Disability in the US, is a reduced or impaired ability to learn and understand new information and function independently.
It affects social and practical skills.
It was previously known as Mental Retardation.
People with Learning Disabilities might have problems with memory and processing information.
They might take longer to understand, respond, or act upon a request.
Quite often, their communication skills might also be affected.
It is possible to assess if someone has a Learning Disability with IQ tests.
A score below 70 will usually mean a learning disability.
It is not that straightforward, however, and a person (usually a psychologist) assessing wouldn’t rely on a single test only.
This reduced ability to learn and cope in life also have to have a significant effect on a person.
It is tricky to assess children as they continuously grow, learn and develop.
Of course, their IQ is lower than adults’ IQ. Information about the IQ score might come together with a mental age.
For example, an IQ between 50-90 equals a mental age of 9 and 12 years old.
What causes a Learning Disability?
There might be several different causes of having a Learning Disability.
One of the causes might be genetic.
Down syndrome is an example of a condition that comes together with a learning disability- it is one of its symptoms. Read more about down syndrome here.
Another one is Fragile X syndrome or Williams syndrome.
Another group of causes of a learning disability are problems during pregnancy.
Malnutrition, drug and alcohol usage, and different illnesses (for example, preeclampsia) or viruses can affect the developing child.
Premature birth or not enough oxygen during birth might also be the cause.
Early childhood problems like meningitis, head injury, lead poisoning, brain tumours or malnutrition can also cause a learning disability.
What can Learning Disability be comorbid with?
Learning disabilities do not usually exist on their own.
They are very often comorbid (coexist with) other conditions. These can be:
Physical health issues- Epilepsy is common for people with learning disabilities. They might also have heart problems and sensory impairments (be blind or deaf)
Genetic- As I mentioned above, Learning Disability (a.k.a Intellectual Disability) might also be a symptom of genetic conditions and disorders.
Mental health problems-people with a Learning Disability are more likely to experience issues like schizophrenia, personality disorders or anxiety.
It is essential to address a common misconception: Learning (or intellectual) disability is not a psychiatric condition and cannot be “treated” with medicine.
Developmental disorders– it is not uncommon for learning disabilities to go hand in hand with Autism, for example.
Autism is not a learning disability, and learning disability is not a symptom of Autism.
Remember that an individual with Autism can also have a very high IQ and be proficient in a particular topic.
Types of Learning Disability
Degrees of a Learning Disability vary.
Depending on the IQ score, a learning disability can be mild, moderate, severe or profound.
Mild– IQ range 50-69
Moderate– IQ range 35-49
Severe– IQ range 20-34Profound– IQ below 20
What is Learning Difficulty?
From the beginning of my post, you might remember that Learning Difficulty is called a Learning Disability in the US.
You can notice and diagnose your little one’s Learning Difficulties in childhood.
It is when your child has to face tasks like reading, writing, planning, and organising.
Learning Difficulties are problems with learning particular skills, usually when in school.
Children (and adults) with learning difficulties might have a high IQ despite their problems in school. Learning difficulty is not an Intellectual Disability.
That doesn’t mean people with a learning disability cannot have dyslexia, for example.
Common types of Learning Difficulties
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is one of the most common Learning Difficulties.
A dyslexic person will have problems with reading, spelling and writing.
You may notice that a dyslexic child has problems reading words aloud and can confuse similar-looking letters when writing (p,b,d).
When reading, they can miss words, add extra ones, weirdly pronounce words or have problems understanding the text they read.
Reading and writing are the areas with the most focus in school, so children having issues with them can fall behind.
These children are not lazy; they just take longer to process information.
Dyslexia is a spectrum, so it can present differently in different children.
It can affect their self-esteem and mental health (it can cause anxiety, for example).
Dysgraphia
Dysgraphia is difficulty with writing.
Children with dysgraphia struggle with writing.
They may take a long time to produce their work, which is often illegible.
Dysgraphia may cause your child to try to avoid writing and frustration when doing it.
Children with Dysgraphia might find it challenging to plan their writing in space.
They might be unsure about the distances between letters and words and struggle to write in a straight line.
Dysgraphia will also cause finding punctuation and choosing between capital and lowercase letters challenging.
Like Dyslexia, Dysgraphia can affect your child’s self-esteem and confidence and make them do poorly at school.
Because writing is so hard for them, they will try to avoid it, affecting their learning and performance.
Dyscalculia
Dyscalculia is characterised by difficulty processing numbers and generally having problems with maths.
A child with dyscalculia will have problems counting, adding, taking away and solving simple maths problems.
They may struggle with ordering and grouping numbers and counting backwards.
Children with dyscalculia might also have dyslexia and dysgraphia.
It will make their learning even more complicated, such as reading maths problems, understanding them, and writing numbers.
Dyscalculia can cause maths anxiety and issues with self-esteem and confidence.
Dyspraxia
Dyspraxia is a motor skills difficulty.
It might differ from Dyslexia, Dyscalculia and Dysgraphia, which are more evident in a classroom and affect learning.
However, Dyspraxia can also have an impact on learning.
With Dyspraxia, the coordination of muscles is affected.
Your child will use hand muscles when writing, and if they are affected by Dyspraxia, their pencil grasp will suffer.
By not holding a pencil correctly, a child with dyspraxia will feel pain and discomfort and be discouraged from writing.
In verbal dyspraxia or apraxia of speech, facial muscles are affected.
That has an impact on the amount and quality of speech.
A child with dyspraxia might also have problems with walking in a “normal” way and other activities involving fine and gross motor skills.
They might find playing an instrument or holding a brush difficult.
Children with dyspraxia are often described as “clumsy”.
What about mental health problems?
People often think that Learning Disabilities are mental health problems.
Mental health conditions are another separate category.
Learning Disability/Intellectual Disability or Learning Difficulty is not a mental health problem.
Neither is Autism or ADHD.
If you want to learn more about Autism, read here, and here you will find a post about ADHD.
These two are considered neurodevelopmental disorders, not Learning Disabilities or Learning Difficulties.
The mental health category covers conditions like anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, OCD or depression and many others.
Mental health disorders are treated by psychiatrists, often with medication.
Conclusion
I hope you can see clearly that Learning/Intellectual Disabilities differ from Learning Difficulties, mental health problems and neurodevelopmental disorders.
They are, however, often comorbid (coexisting) with other conditions.
A person can have a learning disability, Autism, schizophrenia and be blind, and epilepsy altogether.
Very often, people with Learning Disabilities will have various professionals involved in working with them.
Diagnosing children with Learning Disabilities and other developmental conditions might be tricky.
Very often, signs and symptoms may indicate different possible conditions.
Lots of symptoms of a Learning Disability are also typical for other conditions.
On top of that, there needs to be more clarity in the terminology used in different places worldwide.
Let me know in the comments if you have come across any misconceptions about Learning Disabilities, Learning Difficulties and mental health and how they link or differ from one another.
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