• Learning disability is not a generic term for having a “special need” in school, even though it is often used that way. 

​

• A learning disability is a permanent disorder which affects the way individuals with normal or often above average intelligence acquire, retain, and express information.

​

• There difficulties in processing information can significantly interfere with academic and/or social development.

​

• Learning disabilities are usually recognized as a difficulty in one or more of these areas: reading, comprehension, spelling, written expression, handwriting, mathematics, oral expression, and/or problem solving.

​

• A person with learning disabilities may also have perceptual difficulties. It is important to remember that no two people with learning disabilities have the same profile of strengths and weaknesses.

​

• Learning disabilities are often not consistent. While the disability does not ever go away, it might well manifest itself more strongly in certain settings and/or academic areas. For instance, a student might have troubles in grade school that seem to disappear in high school and then return in college. A person with a learning disability might also find that his/her disability is restricted to one area, like math or foreign languages.