learning disabilities, in education, any of various disorders involved in understanding or using spoken or written language, including difficulties in listening, thinking, talking, reading reading, process of mentally interpreting written symbols. Facility in reading is an essential factor in educational progress, and instruction in this basic skill is a primary purpose of elementary education.
..... Click the link for more information. , writing, spelling, or arithmetic arithmetic, branch of mathematics commonly considered a separate branch but in actuality a part of algebra . Conventionally the term has been most widely applied to simple teaching of the skills of dealing with Numbers for practical purposes, e.g.
..... Click the link for more information. . They may affect people of average or above-average intelligence. Learning disabilities include conditions referred to as perceptual handicaps, minimal brain dysfunction (MBD), dyslexia dyslexia (dĭslĕk`sēə)
..... Click the link for more information. , developmental aphasia, and attentional deficit disorder (ADD); they do not include learning problems due to physical handicaps (e.g., impaired sight or hearing, or orthopedic disabilities), mental retardation mental retardation, below average level of intellectual functioning, usually defined by an IQ of below 70 to 75, combined with limitations in the skills necessary for daily living.
..... Click the link for more information. , emotional disturbance, or cultural or environmental disadvantage. Techniques for remediation are highly individualized, including the simultaneous use of several senses (sight, hearing, touch), slow-paced instruction, and repetitive exercises to help make perceptual distinctions. Students are also assisted in compensating for their disabilities; for example, one with a writing disability may use a tape recorder for taking notes or answering essay questions. Behavior often associated with learning disabilities includes hyperactivity (hyperkinesis), short attention span, and impulsiveness. School programs for learning-disabled students range from a modified or supplemental program in regular classes to placement in a special school, depending upon the severity of the disability. The field of learning disabilities is considered to have emerged as a separate discipline in 1947 with the publication of the book Psychopathology and Education of the Brain-Injured Child by neuropsychiatrist Alfred A. Strauss and Laura E. Lehtinen. The need to help students with these disabilities was first recognized on the federal level in 1958, when Congress appropriated $1 million to train teachers for the mentally retarded. Famous people considered to have had a learning disability include Winston Churchill, Thomas Edison, and Nelson Rockefeller.

learning disabilities

Chronic difficulties in learning to read, write, spell, or calculate, which are believed to have a neurological origin. Though their causes and nature are still not fully understood, it is widely agreed that the presence of a learning disability does not indicate subnormal intelligence. Rather it is thought that the learning-disabled have a neurologically based difficulty in processing language or figures, which must be compensated for with special learning strategies or with extra effort and tutoring. Examples of learning disabilities include difficulty in reading (dyslexia), writing (dysgraphia), and mathematics (dyscalcula). Learning disabilities may be diagnosed through testing, and children may be enrolled in programs offering special help; left unrecognized, learning disabilities may result not only in poor classroom performance but also in low self-esteem and disruptive behaviour.