Learning Disabilities: What They Are
“Learning disabilities refers 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 Association of Canada, 2015). In everyday terms, a person may struggle to understand information, to process it efficiently, and to provide an appropriate response, even when their overall intelligence is average or above.
How Is Learning Disability Different From Intellectual Disability?
The challenges can look similar on the surface, but they differ in cause and scope. In intellectual disability, the IQ is below average and most or all modes of perception, processing, and response are affected. In learning disability, IQ is typically average or higher and one or two processing modes are primarily impacted while others remain intact. The result is a specific pattern of strengths and weaknesses rather than a global delay.
Causes of Learning Disability in Adulthood
Adult presentations usually arise for three reasons. First, childhood learning disabilities persist into adulthood because the condition is lifelong. Second, acquired brain changes such as concussion, accident, or surgical trauma can introduce new processing difficulties. Third, neurological conditions like dementia can impair previously strong skills and unmask vulnerabilities in reading, writing, calculation, or organization.
Symptoms of Learning Disability
Common signs include difficulty reading or writing, trouble processing spoken or written information, challenges with numbers and calculations, and problems coordinating tasks. People may have a short attention span, find conversations and explaining thoughts hard, feel easily frustrated, and struggle to follow or give directions. Confusion with left and right, forgetfulness, clumsiness, and reduced social skills can also appear. In short, understanding, processing, and responding efficiently are affected even when effort is high.
Dyslexia: Reading and Language Processing
Dyslexia primarily affects reading and visual–language processing. People may reverse letter order and read “lake” for “kale,” mistake similar letters such as b and d or W and M, and struggle to break words into sounds, which makes longer or unfamiliar words difficult. Comprehension can lag despite strong reasoning. Depending on the subtype, some find long words easier than short ones while others show the opposite pattern due to differences in visual processing and phonological skills.
Dysgraphia: Writing and Written Expression
Dysgraphia affects getting thoughts onto the page. Writing can be slow, effortful, and hard to read. People may struggle to form sentences quickly, show letter reversals or mirror writing, drift off the line, and make capitalization, spacing, punctuation, and spelling errors. Grammar can be inconsistent. Dysgraphia often co-occurs with dyslexia but can also occur on its own, reflecting motor planning and language output challenges rather than low effort or motivation.
Dyscalculia: Numbers and Calculation
Dyscalculia involves difficulty understanding quantities, place value, and math procedures. People may misread or miswrite large numbers, confuse place positions, and find it hard to apply learned methods even after multiple explanations. Time, measurement, and everyday arithmetic can be confusing, leading to frequent errors in simple addition or subtraction despite strong abilities in other areas.
Dyspraxia: Motor Coordination and Organization
Dyspraxia, also called Developmental Coordination Disorder, affects planning and coordinating movement. Signs include poor posture, messy or illegible handwriting, clumsiness, and difficulty with balance, ball skills, biking, or fine motor tasks like buttons or laces. People may tire quickly during simple activities and sometimes mix up words during speech due to motor planning demands across systems.
Non-Verbal Learning Disability: Visual–Spatial and Social Understanding
Non-verbal learning disability affects organization, visual–spatial reasoning, abstract thinking, and reading social cues. People may struggle with time management, visual construction, summarizing or organizing information, and interpreting tone of voice, complex facial expressions, or emotions. Verbal skills can be relatively strong while non-verbal communication and practical organization feel disproportionately hard.
Treatment and Support
Learning disabilities are lifelong, but targeted support helps. The first step is a professional assessment to clarify the specific profile of strengths and challenges. Therapy then focuses on skill-building, strategy training, and environmental supports. Examples include structured literacy for dyslexia, explicit writing scaffolds for dysgraphia, concrete and visual math instruction for dyscalculia, motor planning and ergonomic supports for dyspraxia, and visual–spatial coaching and social communication strategies for non-verbal learning disability. With tailored strategies, people can navigate daily demands and thrive at school, work, and home. To speak with a speech-language pathologist at Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy, book an initial consultation below or call (647) 795-5277.
