What is Learning Disability?
Learning disability includes the presence of -:
- A significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information, to learn new skills (impaired intelligence), with
- A reduced ability to cope independently (impaired social functioning), which started before adulthood, with a lasting effect on development.
This guidance does not include specific disorders relating to, for example reading & writing (dyslexia) or maths (dyscalculia) which are unlikely to result in significant needs with self care activities.
Educationalists use the term “Special Needs” or “Learning Difficulties” as an alternative to learning disability.
While all professionals across agencies agree that IQ should not be used in isolation to assess the degree of learning disability existing systems largely rely on this to define subcategories. Unfortunately they do not use the same categories, causing confusion.
| IQ | Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 1V) / International Classification of Diseases (ICD 10) Assessment of disability | Educational Assessment of learning difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| 50-70 | Mild Disability | Mild/Moderate Difficulty |
| 35-49 | Moderate Disability | Severe Difficulty |
| 20-34 | Severe Disability | |
| Below 20 | Profound Disability |
The school a child attends is a good indicator of their functioning and it is often not possible, useful or practical to assess IQ formally in significantly disabled children.
Learning disability has multiple causes -:
- Mild to moderate learning disability is usually due to a combination of genetic and environmental causes.
- Severe and profound learning disability is likely to be organic in basis and due to specific genetic or physical abnormalities. It affects children from all socioeconomic backgrounds.
Specific causes of Learning Disability can include -:
- Genetic factors
- Chromosome abnormalities e.g. Fragile X and Downs syndrome
- Metabolic disorders e.g. Phenylketonuria and Tay Sachs disease
- Brain malformations e.g. hydrocephalus
- Antenatal and perinatal damage e.g. rubella syndrome, toxaemia (blood poisoning as a result of toxins in the blood) and birth asphyxia (lack of oxygen to the brain)
- Postnatal damage e.g. accidental or non-accidental injury and infections such as meningitis
Incidence/Prevalence
It is estimated that there are between 55,000 and 75,000 children with a moderate or severe learning disability in England. The number of children with mild learning disability is not known. The prevalence peaks at 10 – 14 years of age due to the fact that children with mild learning disability are diagnosed significantly later than those with more severe learning disability. Advances in medical care for low birth weight babies are resulting in an increase in the incidence of severe learning disability.
