Learning Disabilities
More than 10% of Canadians have a learning disability. They are young and old, male and female, from every community and background. Many people don’t know about learning disabilities, even though they or someone close to them may have one. Today, there is a new understanding of how learning disabilities affect our lives. There are also resources to help people help each other.
What is a learning disability?
Society assumes that everyone learns and makes connections in the same way. This just isn’t true. People with learning disabilities have problems remembering, understanding and/or communicating in the usual ways. As a result, they can have difficulties at school or at work. They can have problems with their families or in relationships. Their difficulties sometimes make them feel very anxious, discouraged or angry. They may also feel ashamed or embarrassed, or try to hide their frustrations. People with learning disabilities are often misunderstood.
Definition of learning disabilities
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. The way in which they are expressed may vary over an individual's lifetime, depending on the interaction between the demands of the environment and the individual's strengths and needs. Learning disabilities are suggested by unexpected academic under-achievement or achievement which is maintained only by unusually high levels of effort and support.
Learning disabilities are 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.
Living with a learning disability
In the past, people with learning disabilities were alone in sorting through their day-to-day challenges. Today, there are public programs to help individuals and families. Parents, schools and employers are becoming more aware of learning disabilities. We now recognize that children have the right to specialized help when they need it. Students and adults with learning disabilities have the right to suitable instruction, support and counseling. All people with learning disabilities can benefit from community support that enables them to lead fulfilled lives.
How we can help
The Learning Disabilities Association - Vancouver Chapter can help people with learning disabilities make the right connections. LDAV is committed to:
- Providing programs to help people with learning disabilities
- Advocating for community services for people with learning disabilities
- Promoting public awareness and support for people with learning disabilities and their families.
