The difference between a learning disability and learning difficulties

[Elmo230885]

Probably not the right place but hopefully this post will help someone.

It may seem pedantic but it can make a big difference, for example when applying for benefits or paperwork for EHCPs. Learning difficulties and a learning disability are completely different things.

In a nutshell a learning disability affects all aspects of learning and intelligence (resulting in a low, less than 70, IQ) whilst a learning difficulty is related to a specific aspect of learning ( e.g. dyslexia) and doesn't affect an individual's overall IQ.

(Autism is neither of these things, but that's a different thread completely)

Who are you talking to?
I mean, who do you think needs to know this, but doesn't.

I've seen a fair few posts recently where people have put learning difficulties and have gone on to describe a learning disability. Usually in posts where they are having trouble getting the correct support. It doesn't help that a number of professionals don't know the difference a d use the two interchangeably.

I just wanted to put it out there.

Well said

I will try to remember... I don't use the words hardly ever, but makes sense they are different things.

Off to google diff between misinformation & disinformation... another one my brain doesn't hold onto

I work for a learning disability team and our criteria for support from our team is a Learning Disability, not a Learning Difficulty. So many people struggle to understand!

Can I ask a question? My son has fasd. He is at the right level school wise but most of his issues are social and emotional plus adhd type issues , short term memory loss, tourettes and no awareness of consequences. What would you say for him? At the moment I simply say additional needs.

Yes, thank you. I have a child with severe learning difficulties, and it is important for people to understand the difference and that extends to the impact it has on their and our lives as a family. It is all encompassing and not comparable to some specific learning difficulties.

I think it's more nuanced than that - a learning difficulty can amount to a disability in some cases, for example autism. A person can have a high IQ but struggle with everyday life and need a lot of support.

I know that the legal definition of a disability isn't the same as the one Mencap uses.

I prefer intellectual disability to learning disability, it is more accurate and it removes this conflation problem.

Autism isn't a learning difficulty though.

@Yarnasaurus

I’m not keen on ID, it seems to negate the spectrum of issues which come with Learning Disabilities. But I know that it is becoming the favoured term.

Where are you taking your definitions from?

It's tricky because we share a language and an international communications network with a bigger country that uses different definitions — I think what we call a learning difficulty, they call a learning disability, and what we call a learning disability, they tend to call an intellectual disability or similar.

It does annoy me when people get things wrong, though, but trying to clear up confusions can make things even worse sometimes. I have an ASD diagnosis, and someone presenting at a mental health related conference responding to my question described me as having a learning disability. I explained that I don't have a learning disability and that while many people with autism do have a learning disability, the autism is separate and you can have either alone or both together. Her reaction was to be very apologetic for inadvertently insulting me(!) at which point I wasn't sure how to proceed, and dropped it because the whole thing was taking up time and was very uncomfortable. Sigh…

How can autism not be a learning difficulty? It makes it very difficult to learn for sure me.

So does having a thwocking headache, or being blind and not being provided with appropriate accommodations. Specific learning difficulties are more… specific.

In all fairness I'm not a fan of 'learning disability' as a term but it is what is used in the UK. As a PP said this is the term used to access services. I'm an RNLD and without the LD diagnosis an individual can't access our services.

It's also become more problematic recently with Autism/ASD also being lumped in. Autism is a neurodeveloomental disorder it is not a learning disability or a learning difficulty. It can, however be present with a learning disability or difficulty and/or other additional needs.

@delilabell I'm not an Autism practitioner but I would say that what you describe are some of the attributes of your DC's Autism. Unfortunately as a society we have become obsessed with labels and people seem to collect them as they go through services. If I was doing an EHCP for your DC I would lead with the Autism diagnosis and then explain the additional needs one by one (same with DLA or PIP forms). Need to be careful about what is an ' official diagnosis' and what are 'traits of ASD'. Sorry if I've talked in a circle!

Elmo I'm guessing part of the difficulty with autism is that there's no other service. Certainly for adults, from a patient perspective, autism might as well not exist, and the only service that provides any help for autism-related issues is the LD service, which you can only access if you have an LD diagnosis as well.

Specific learning difficulties, or SpLDs, such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia etc, are a category of disability. But they're not a learning disability.
In the same way, autism isn't an SpLD or a learning disability, but it can still affect learning. Ditto ADHD
(I'm dyspraxic and autistic and have adhd so I know the terms from doing paperwork etc)

In all fairness I'm not a fan of 'learning disability' as a term but it is what is used in the UK. As a PP said this is the term used to access services

Where is it prescribed that uk differentiates / defines learning disability from learning difficulty in that way?

EHCPs are not diagnosis based they're (supposed to be) needs based. Same with dla and PIP. Its sbout impact not diagnosis.

@Elmo230885 @delilabell 's child has FASD not ASD.

@delilabell Your son currently has specific cognitive difficulties associated with FASD (now a specific diagnosis in the UK). If he falls behind developmentally as he ages, he may continue to have specific learning/cognitive difficulties OR if he eventually globally falls well below the general population as an adult he may meet criteria for a Learning Disability (UK)/Intellectual Disability (USA). Either way, his FASD diagnosis remains and is the explanation for his difficulties. I wish you well and hope he continues to keep up with peers in terms of learning.

@LosingTheWill2022 the criteria for a Learning Disability (UK)/Intellectual Disability (USA) is set out in the DSM and ICD diagnostic frameworks. As @Elmo230885 said it requires IQ<70, a global impairment and adaptive functioning difficulties to a significant level.

Where is it prescribed that uk differentiates / defines learning disability from learning difficulty in that way?

May not be the case for EHCPs but Social Services often make the distinction their social care assessments. Discovered that my sons social worker was under the impression that he had a learning difficulty and not learning disabilities which explained some of the things she was saying to us.

Sorry @delilabell I didn't read your post properly (I'm blaming my toddler!). Thanks @TheDaydreamBelievers

No problem @Elmo230885 😊

DD1 has moderate learning disability in the health world. That translates to severe learning difficulties in educational settings. She also has ASD and a brain malformation. Do her difficulties/her disability come from her ASD or her brain malformation or both? Nobody knows. In fact she only got her ASD diagnosis last year at 15, when her social difficulties outstripped her other needs in terms of her well-being.

When we were going through ASD assessment, one of the assessors was baffled. She said 'But LD diagnosis gives you cradle to grave care....why would you want an ASD diagnosis?' Believe me, when we say ASD, everyone nods sagely. If we say 'brain malformation' or 'Learning Disability' people look very confused.