What is and isn’t a learning disability (LD)? LD is more than a "difference" or "difficulty" with learning — it's a neurological disorder that affects the brain's ability to receive, process, store, and respond to information. LD will vary in how it impacts each individual child, adolescent and adult. Understanding the basic facts will enable you to help yourself, your child, or someone you know to be a well-informed and effective advocate.
Our new e-book, 50 Questions About LD, is filled with answers to common LD questions. Topics include: how to deal with the “LD” label, RTI and working with your child’s school, the emotional impact of learning disabilities at school and home, preparing teens for college and work, and related issues like AD/HD and giftedness. More >
¿Qué son las discapacidades de aprendizaje?
Las discapacidades de aprendizaje (DA) son reales. Afectan la capacidad del cerebro para recibir, procesar, almacenar, responder y comunicar información. Las DA son en realidad un grupo de trastornos neurológicos, no un solo trastorno... More >
NCLD, with the State of Learning Disabilities, has published a critical report that will further the debate over how to strengthen the programs and policies we have in place to serve and protect students and adults with learning disabilities.
- Thomas H. Kean, NCLD Board Member and f... More >
¿Qué son las Discapacidades para el Aprendizaje?
Las discapacidades de aprendizaje (DA) son un grupo de trastornos diversos que tienen un impacto negativo en el aprendizaje. Pueden afectar la capacidad de hablar, pensar, leer, escribir, deletrear o calcular. La DA más frecuent... More >
Even though some three million school-age children are classified as having specific learning disabilities (LD), this category of special need is often widely misunderstood. Surveys of both parents and educators confirm that many people mistakenly link LD with mental retardation and ... More >
It happened again, this time on a train! A stalled train during my rush hour escape from the city redirected a flood of commuters onto the platform where I board my usual train in a relaxed and unhurried manner. The doors opened, a flurry of jockeying and shuffling toward open seats e... More >
Learning disabilities (LD) – what they are (and what they are not) – continue to be a source of confusion for many people. Here are some key facts to keep in mind:
What Is a Learning Disability?
A learning disability is a biological "processing" problem that impairs a person'... More >
La siguiente es una transcripción del podcast "Conceptos Básicos sobre las Discapacidades en el Aprendizaje (audio)."
Pregunta: Hoy tenemos algunas preguntas que nos han sido enviadas a través de la página web del Centro Nacional para las Discapacidades en el Aprendizaje www.LD.o... More >
The specific learning disabilities (LD) category, dating back to its origin in the early 1960s, was built on the assumption that central nervous system dysfunction was the underlying cause of why these individuals struggled to achieve at levels commensurate with their peers. More tha... More >
We've Come a Long Way ... and We're Not There Yet!
In the early 1960s, the term "learning disabilities" was coined to describe a group of children who, despite normal intelligence, were having significant problems with learning. The difficulties experienced by these children were u... More >
Archived Index and Summaries of NJCLD Reports 2001-Present:
Adolescent Literacy and Older Students with Learning Disabilities (2008)This report describes the adolescent literacy problem (grades 4 to 12), its consequences, and contributing factors. Guiding principles for assessme... More >
In this podcast, Dr. Sheldon Horowitz answers three common questions about learning disabilities (LD):
Can you get a child’s learning disability to go away?
How do you deal with someone – a child, parent, or teacher -- who denies that anything is wrong, that the learning disa... More >
La siguiente es una transcripción del podcast "Discapacidades en el Aprendizaje: Distinguiendo la realidad de la ficción."Pregunta: El podcast de hoy es sobre el tema de las discapacidades en el aprendizaje, distinguiendo la realidad de la ficción. A pesar de que los estudiantes co... More >
> View Infographic
NCLD collected data from a random sampling of 1,980 adults in the United States, evenly distributed across males and females, via an online survey in August 2012. The sampling is representative of the U.S. population with a margin of error of 4.4 percent. Twelve... More >
La siguiente es una transcripción del podcast "Lo que siempre quiso saber acerca de las Discapacidades en el Aprendizaje (audio)."Pregunta: Bienvenidos a esta serie de podcasts sobre los fundamentos de las discapacidades en el aprendizaje. El Podcast de hoy es sobre el tema de lo que... More >
In this podcast, NCLD’s Dr. Sheldon Horowitz answers common questions on the basics of learning disabilities. Learn about how learning disabilities are identified and specific ways executive functioning and executive processing relate to learning disabilities.This is the first in a ... More >
TIn this podcast, Dr. Sheldon Horowitz answers questions about some of the myths and facts connected to learning disabilities (LD). He also talks about key qualities that successful individuals with LD have. And, learn how parents and educators can help students with LD to stay motiva... More >
Let’s get a few things on the table right up front. There is no shame in having a learning disability (LD). Learning disabilities are not the result of laziness or inadequate instruction. They are not the same as hearing or vision impairments and are not a mild form of intellectual ... More >
When it comes to specific learning disabilities, there are some things that we know for sure: they are real, they are not something that a person outgrows, and they are equal opportunity disorders, meaning that they affect males and females alike and don’t confine themselves to a pa... More >
The World We Used to Live In
During the past few thousands of years, society has evolved in ways that are not always friendly to individuals who are in some ways "different" than their peers. Who got labeled as having disorders or disabilities has always been a consequence of a giv... More >
Our eye-opening 2012 analysis on learning disabilities trends, facts, needs, challenges, and opportunities answers an array of LD-related questions, including:
What percentage of students is identified as having learning disabilities?
How are learning disabilities perceived in th... More >
We reached out to our social media community and asked for their favorite LD-related book recommendations. A quick browse through this list will connect you with valuable information that can educate and inspire. If you have any other ideas, please add them to the comments below. And ... More >
LD AWAY: A Cure for Learning Disabilities and MoreIt’s time to celebrate because experts from around the world finally agree that a proven treatment for learning disabilities (LD) has been discovered. Never before has there been so powerful an approach to helping children achi... More >
Sometimes, smart people believe dumb things. We are tricked into thinking that something is true because of slick advertising that includes pictures of the brain and lots of scientific words and medical jargon. We embrace ideas and therapies that feed into our beliefs, even when our i... More >
There is an age old proverb that says “the eyes are the windows to the soul.” And today, we can take it even one step further and say that the eyes are windows to the mind, or perhaps more precisely, the brain. With some disorders, the eye literally allows physicians to peek at th... More >
There are some individuals who have receptive and expressive language difficulties that impact their learning and behavior. As young children, they struggle to “hear” the subtle differences between sounds in words and as they get older, they have trouble listening and understandin... More >
Some people will believe just about anything... and that’s not a criticism, it’s just human nature. And parents of children who struggle with learning are no exception. In fact, they are likely to be more vulnerable to believing what they hear about promising treatments for learni... More >
Check out these resources for more information about research in education and proven vs. controversial therapies. While many of these are intended for educators, they could be extremely helpful for parents as they gather information and hone their skills as informed and empowered dec... More >
Truth be told, learning disabilities (LD) are not easily explained. While they are "specific" to any number of areas of learning (such as reading, math, and writing) they are also often overlapping or co-occurring, meaning that individuals with LD can have significant challenges in more than one area of skill development and performance. Because learning doesn't take place in a vacuum, social-emotional and behavioral issues often mask or exacerbate the effects of LD. And as individuals are exposed to new information, gain new insights and experience, and build their own menus of strategies to overcome or work around their areas of struggle, the impact of their learning disabilities can change, for better or for worse. Add a person's overall personality and motivation and other factors like opportunities to expand one's repertoire of effective accommodations (trying things out and see if they work) to the mix, and it's clear that LD is not just one thing, is not easily captured in a simple explanation, and does not effect all individuals in the same way. Hence the appeal of talking about "learning styles" in the same breath.
Not Everyone with a Preferred Style of Learning Has LD
Look around at the people with whom you have regular contact, think about how they appear to organize themselves for learning, and how they seem to be able to accomplish different tasks with ease or with difficulty:
"L" is a "phone person," terrific at remembering names of people, and has a knack for keeping calendar dates, appointments and call-back numbers "in her head."
"S" dislikes talking on the phone, struggles to retrieve peoples' names but never forgets a face, and writes everything down, most often remembering details without having to refer to his notes.
"E" is annoyed by long explanations, has little interest in reading, and is a "hands on" person, preferring to ask for information as needed and ‘'getting the job done" without sharing thoughts, pausing for reflection or asking for feedback.
Question: Do any of these individuals have learning disabilities? Answer:Maybe.
Determining whether a person has learning disabilities involves formal assessment and very careful documentation including investigations of prior school experience, response to instruction, skill mastery, information processing strengths and weaknesses, motivation and more. Information about learning styles can, however, be very helpful in orchestrating opportunities for success in school, at work, and in the community.
My child is struggling 
Now that my child has 
Truth be told, learning disabilities (LD) are not easily explained. While they are "specific" to any number of areas of learning (such as reading, math, and writing) they are also often overlapping or co-occurring, meaning that individuals with LD can have significant challenges in more than one area of skill development and performance. Because learning doesn't take place in a vacuum, social-emotional and behavioral issues often mask or exacerbate the effects of LD. And as individuals are exposed to new information, gain new insights and experience, and build their own menus of strategies to overcome or work around their areas of struggle, the impact of their learning disabilities can change, for better or for worse. Add a person's overall personality and motivation and other factors like opportunities to expand one's repertoire of effective accommodations (trying things out and see if they work) to the mix, and it's clear that LD is not just one thing, is not easily captured in a simple explanation, and does not effect all individuals in the same way. Hence the appeal of talking about "learning styles" in the same breath.
