What is a Learning Disability?

The official definition of a Learning Disability (LD), accepted across Canada in 2002, states that:

• LD affects people with normal abilities to think and reason;
• LD is not about person’s level of intelligence, it is about the fact that their brain functions differently;
• These differences result from genetics, how the brain is wired and engineered, and/or injury. They are not the result of socio-economic factors, cultural or linguistic differences, a lack of motivation or ineffective teaching;
• This different functioning of the brain affects how people process information and perceive their environment;
• LD is life long and the way it affects a person changes during their life as a result of how they interact with the environment around them; and
• LD does not affect all people the same way.

There are two sides to LD: the learning side and the disability side. The learning side focuses on the struggle people with LD have with learning and the fact that finding ways to learn is the key to being able to overcome the challenges of having a brain that functions differently. As learning is a life long process so are the challenges. To escape from the constraints of LD requires a combination of effort that would include the following:

• Some changes to the traditional ways of teaching at home, school or work;
• A continuous search by the individual to find learning strategies that work for them;
• A supportive family.

On the learning side the research is extensive and conclusive: the best solution is to identify the condition as early as possible and make the appropriate changes to the teaching methods so as to create the environment for the person with LD to learn.

The disability side shows up later if there is no or little success on the learning side. People with LD are not born disabled; they are born with brains that function well but differently. Only if the learning side does not kick in does the differences in brain functioning become a disability. This is why learning is the greatest challenge and the most important key to success for people with LD. And, this is why the way people with LD are taught at home, in school and at work, is so critically important.

Buried inside the definition of LD is the idea that people with brains that function differently perceive the world differently. This complicates life for people with LD considerably; not only do they learn differently but they see things differently. So, the learning side needs to deal, not only with technical things like reading, writing and math, it must also deal with the soft skills of best to relate to demands of the environment around them. It is this “disconnect” between how things are perceived and how they are, that contributes to the disability side.

LD is a complex condition but with appropriate learning supports and strategies people with LD can function on a level playing field and can successfully chase their dreams just like anyone else. LD that is supported unlocks a person’s human potential and creates the opportunity for them to productive and to excel.

Without appropriate learning supports and strategies, there is a dark side to LD. The nature of LD is such that people with LD live with more stress and anxiety then the rest of us. That is just the way it is. With supports, these are manageable; without supports they transform into low self esteem, poor mental health, increased dependency, poor work habits, low incomes, and all of the other negative behaviors that flow from these. On this side of LD the research is again extensive and conclusive: behaviors seldom get better, they get worse.

The cost of not dealing with LD, to people, families and communities is enormous and this is why dealing with LD matters.