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 >
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 m... 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 >
There are too many theories about learning styles, each with unique features, to summarize in this brief column. The core principle they share, however, is almost always the same: individuals respond to and use different types of information and approaches when engaged in learning. The most common terms that are used to describe these language styles are:
Key "style" terms
Some underlying assumptions and characteristics
Auditory (linguistic)
Spoken language is a preferred way of taking in and responding to information.
Visual (spatial)
Visual information (e.g. printed words, maps, charts, environmental cues) are needed for ease of learning.
Kinesthetic
Engaging in hands-on activity and getting feedback from physical sensations are important and helpful in facilitating learning and in demonstrating mastery of skills.
As mentioned earlier, no one uses only one approach to learning all the time, and having strong preferences for how information is presented and how feedback (or performance) is required and evaluated is not, by itself, a sure sign of learning disabilities. Take a look at NCLD's Fact Sheets on auditory processing, visual processing, executive function, and information processing disorders for information about how features of these learning styles map onto specific learning disabilities.
Self-knowledge of Learning Styles Can Lead To Success
Knowing how an individual learns best, in a variety of subject areas and given a variety of different performance tasks, can be very helpful:
Students can (and should!) speak with teachers about the features of instruction that work best for them and request that classroom practices be adjusted to enable them to achieve success.
Parents can support school efforts and provide the types of practice, structure and support at home that reflect learning style preferences and that lead to greater independence and school success. Be sure to engage in discussion about learning style preferences during teacher conferences and at IEP meetings.
Educators can tailor and modify instruction to ensure that the needs of students with highly stylized learning preferences are being met (in addition to providing services and supports that address the challenges posed by specific learning disabilities).
Some Readings and Resources
LDPride This Web site offers information about learning styles and Multiple Intelligence (MI). It provides a link to an online interactive assessment of learning style, and lists practical tips to make your learning style work for you.
Index of Learning Styles This Web site offers a free online self-scoring questionnaire created by Drs. Felder and Soloman at North Carolina State University. The model for this questionnaire was originally formulated by Dr. Felder in collaboration with Dr. Linda K. Silverman, an educational psychologist, for use by college instructors and students in engineering and the sciences, although it has subsequently been applied in a broad range of disciplines.
Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) This paper includes a questionnaire that has been designed to allow students to describe, in a systematic way, how they go about learning and studying. The questionnaire is composed of lots of questions (many of which intentionally overlap) to cover many different ways of studying. Most of the items are based on comments made by students.
Multiple Intelligences Here is a link to a simple test for young people, based on Gardner's eight multiple intelligences. It taps learning style preferences in different domains of learning: kinesthetic, logic, intrapersonal, visual/spatial, linguistic, interpersonal, musical, and naturalistic intelligences.
Sheldon H. Horowitz, Ed.D. is the Director of LD Resources & Essential Information at the National Center for Learning Disabilities.
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