Difference between Learning Disabilities and Specific Learning Difficulties

Understanding Learning Disabilities and Specific Learning Difficulties

Learning disabilities and Specific Learning Difficulties are two different types of cognitive impairments. Both of them can affect daily life and learning but in different ways.

Learning disabilities are categorised as a reduced intellectual ability and difficulty with everyday activities. These difficulties span many areas including social skills, reading, writing, or self-care.
People with learning disabilities face these challenges from an early age and the effects are lifelong.
The level of learning disability can vary for each individual, it can be categorised as mild, moderate, severe, or profound.
Unlike a learning difficulty, a learning disability is a condition, not a problem with learning process.

Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs) relate to particular difficulties with certain aspects of learning.
These difficulties can include dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, ADHD, and Autistic Spectrum Disorder among others. These are not intellectual disabilities, instead, they specifically affect the way information is learned and processed.
Someone with a SpLD may struggle with one area of learning but may excel or show average abilities in other areas. For example, a person with dyslexia may struggle with reading and writing but may be excellent in oral communication and problem-solving tasks.
As oppose to the lifelong condition of learning disabilities, SpLDs can be worked around with strategies and techniques, meaning someone can learn to manage or mitigate the difficulties they might experience.

One important difference between the two is that a learning disability is a general difficulty with learning across many areas, while a specific learning difficulty is usually concentrated on a specific subset of skills.
Unlike learning disabilities, Specific Learning Difficulties do not affect the person’s intelligence, they instead only impact upon their educational experience.
There’s a further crucial difference between Learning Disabilities and SpLDs, in the medical classing: Learning Disabilities are a condition from birth, while SpLDs are classified as a neurological disorder.

Both people with learning disabilities and specific learning difficulties need support and understanding from those around them but in different ways.
Understanding these differences is vital for tailoring support to meet individual needs.