7 TYPES OF

LEARNING
DISABILITY
DYSLEXIA IS COMPRISED OF THREE
CENTRAL COMPONENTS: STRUGGLES WITH
WORD READING, SPELLING AND/OR READING
FLUENCY. THE PROFILE OF A STUDENT WITH
DYSLEXIA CONTAINS ONE OR MORE OF
THESE WEAKNESSES, BUT THE SEVERITY
WILL VARY ACROSS STUDENTS. SINCE
DYSLEXIA OCCURS ON A CONTINUUM OF
SEVERITY, THE EXPRESSION OF DYSLEXIA
WILL APPEAR DIFFERENT ACROSS STUDENTS.
THE PRIMARY CHARACTERISTICS OF
DYSLEXIA ARE AS FOLLOWS:
POOR DECODING: DIFFICULTY ACCURATELY READING (OR
SOUNDING OUT) UNKNOWN WORDS;
POOR FLUENCY: SLOW, INACCURATE, OR LABORED ORAL
READING (SLOW READING RATE);
POOR SPELLING: DIFFICULTY WITH LEARNING TO SPELL, OR
WITH SPELLING WORDS, EVEN COMMON WORDS,
ACCURATELY.
POOR READING COMPREHENSION: IN MODERATE TO SEVERE
CASES, POOR DECODING AND LIMITED FLUENCY CAN
INTERFERE WITH READING COMPREHENSION, EVEN IF ORAL
SIGNS OF DYSLEXIA
PEOPLE WITH DYSLEXIA EXHIBIT PARTICULAR
STRENGTHS AND DIFFICULTIES AT DIFFERENT
STAGES IN THEIR EDUCATION. SOME OF THE
CHARACTERISTICS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE
PRESENT IN YOUNG CHILDREN, WHEREAS OTHERS
ARE MORE APPARENT IN ADOLESCENTS.

DYSLEXIA HAS SOMETIMES BEEN REFERRED TO AS

A “HIDDEN DISABILITY” BECAUSE STUDENTS WITH
DYSLEXIA MAY EXHIBIT STRENGTHS IN COGNITIVE
ABILITIES THAT CAN THEN MASK THEIR
DIFFICULTIES. THUS, EXAMINING TYPICAL
STRENGTHS ALONGSIDE TYPICAL DIFFICULTIES
CAN BE ENLIGHTENING IN UNDERSTANDING THE
SIGNS OF DYSLEXIA.
WHAT CAUSES DYSLEXIA?
IT’S LINKED TO GENES, WHICH IS WHY
THE CONDITION OFTEN RUNS IN
FAMILIES. YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE
DYSLEXIA IF YOUR PARENTS, SIBLINGS,
OR OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE IT.
DYSGRAPHIA IS CHARACTERIZED BY THE PERSON HAVING
DIFFICULTY CONVERTING THE SOUNDS OF LANGUAGE INTO
WRITTEN FORM (PHONEMES INTO GRAPHEMES), OR KNOWING
WHICH ALTERNATE SPELLING TO USE FOR EACH SOUND. A PERSON
WITH DYSGRAPHIA MAY WRITE THEIR LETTERS IN REVERSE, HAVE
TROUBLE RECALLING HOW LETTERS ARE FORMED, OR WHEN TO
USE LOWER OR UPPER CASE LETTERS. A PERSON WITH
DYSGRAPHIA MAY ALSO STRUGGLE TO FORM WRITTEN
SENTENCES WITH CORRECT GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION, WITH
COMMON PROBLEMS INCLUDING OMMITTING WORDS, WORDS
ORDERED INCORRECTLY, INCORRECT VERB AND PRONOUN USAGE
AND WORD ENDING ERRORS. PEOPLE WITH DYSGRAPHIA MAY
SPEAK MORE EASILY AND FLUENTLY THAN THEY WRITE.
THE CAUSE OF THE DISORDER IS
UNKNOWN, BUT IN ADULTS, IT IS USUALLY
ASSOCIATED WITH DAMAGE TO THE
PARIETAL LOBE OF THE BRAIN.
DYSGRAPHIA IS A NEUROLOGICAL
DISORDER CHARACTERIZED BY WRITING
DISABILITIES. SPECIFICALLY, THE
DISORDER CAUSES A PERSON'S WRITING TO
BE DISTORTED OR INCORRECT.
DYSCALCULIA IS A TERM
REFERRING TO A WIDE RANGE OF
DIFFICULTIES WITH MATHS,
INCLUDING WEAKNESSES IN
UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING
OF NUMBERS, AND DIFFICULTY
APPLYING MATHEMATICAL
PRINCIPLES TO SOLVE PROBLEMS.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF DYSCALCULIA
 Pre-school
 Has trouble learning to
count
 Struggles to connect a
number to an object, such
as knowing that “3”
applies to groups of things
like 3 cakes, 3 cars, or 3
friends
 Struggles to recognize
patterns, like smallest to
largest or tallest to shortest
 Primary School
 Has difficulty learning and recalling basic number facts such as number bonds, e.g. 6 +
4 = 10.
 Still uses fingers to count instead of using more advanced strategies (like mental maths)
 Poor understanding of the signs +, -, xx and x or may confuse these mathematical
symbols
 Struggles to recognise that 3 + 5 is the same as 5 + 3 or may not be able to solve 3 + 26
‒ 26 without calculating
 Has trouble with place value, often putting numbers in the wrong column.
 May not understand maths language or be able to devise a plan to solve a maths
problem.
 Finds it difficult to understand maths phrases like greater than and less than
 Has trouble keeping score in sports or games
 Has difficulty working out the total cost of items and can run out of money
 May avoid situations that require understanding numbers, like playing games that
involve maths.
Secondary school Adults

 Struggles to understand information on charts and  Typical symptoms include:

graphs.
 difficulty counting backwards
 Has trouble finding different approaches to the
 difficulty remembering ‘basic’ facts
same maths problem, such as adding the length and
width of a rectangle and doubling the answer to  slow to perform calculations
solve for the perimeter (rather than adding all the
 weak mental arithmetic skills
sides).
 Struggles to learn and understand reasoning  a poor sense of numbers & estimation
methods and multi-step calculation procedures  Difficulty in understanding place value
 Has trouble measuring items like ingredients in a  Addition is often the default operation
simple recipe or liquids in a bottle.
 High levels of mathematics anxiety
 Lacks confidence in activities that require
understanding speed, distance and directions, and 
may get lost easily.
 Has trouble applying maths concepts to money,
such as calculating the exact change
GENES AND HEREDITY:
DYSCALCULIA TENDS TO RUN IN
FAMILIES. RESEARCH SHOWS
THAT GENETICS MAY ALSO PLAY A
PART IN PROBLEMS WITH MATH.
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT: BRAIN
IMAGING STUDIES HAVE SHOWN
SOME DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
AUDITORY PROCESSING DISORDER
(APD) IS A HEARING PROBLEM THAT
AFFECTS ABOUT 3%–5% OF SCHOOL-
AGED CHILDREN. KIDS WITH THIS
CONDITION, ALSO KNOWN AS
CENTRAL AUDITORY PROCESSING
DISORDER (CAPD), CAN'T
UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY HEAR IN
THE SAME WAY OTHER KIDS DO. THIS
IS BECAUSE THEIR EARS AND BRAIN
PEOPLE WITH AUDITORY PROCESSING
DISORDER (APD) HAVE A HARD TIME
HEARING SMALL SOUND DIFFERENCES
IN WORDS. SOMEONE SAYS, "PLEASE
RAISE YOUR HAND," AND YOU HEAR
SOMETHING LIKE "PLEASE HAZE YOUR
PLAN." YOU TELL YOUR CHILD, "LOOK
AT THE COWS OVER THERE," AND THEY
MAY HEAR, "LOOK AT THE CLOWN ON
THE CHAIR."
CAUSES
DOCTORS DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT CAUSES
APD, BUT IT MAY BE LINKED TO:

ILLNESS. APD CAN HAPPEN AFTER CHRONIC

EAR INFECTIONS, MENINGITIS, OR LEAD
POISONING. SOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE NERVOUS
SYSTEM DISEASES, SUCH AS MULTIPLE
SCLEROSIS, ALSO DEVELOP APD.
PREMATURE BIRTH OR LOW WEIGHT.
HEAD INJURY.
GENES (APD MAY RUN IN FAMILIES
A LANGUAGE PROCESSING DISORDER
(LPD) IS AN IMPAIRMENT THAT
NEGATIVELY AFFECTS COMMUNICATION
THROUGH SPOKEN LANGUAGE. THERE
ARE TWO TYPES OF LPD—PEOPLE WITH
EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE DISORDER
HAVE TROUBLE EXPRESSING THOUGHTS
CLEARLY, WHILE THOSE WITH
RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE DISORDER HAVE
DIFFICULTY UNDERSTANDING OTHERS.
WHAT ARE EXAMPLES OF
LANGUAGE DISORDERS?
-SPEECH DISORDERS
-CHILDHOOD APRAXIA OF SPEECH.
-DYSARTHRIA.
-OROFACIAL MYOFUNCTIONAL
DISORDERS.
-SPEECH SOUND DISORDERS.
-STUTTERING.
-VOICE.
CAUSES OF A LANGUAGE PROCESSING
DISORDER

LPD IS A NEUROLOGICAL PROBLEM. THE

EXACT CAUSE IS OFTEN UNKNOWN. LPD
AFFECTS THE SKILLS NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND
INFORMATION PRESENTED VERBALLY. THOSE
SKILLS INCLUDE ATTENTION, MEMORY,
FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS, LEARNING, AND
SOMETIMES EVEN READING AND SPELLING.
NONVERBAL LEARNING DISORDER
(NVLD) IS A LEARNING DISABILITY THAT
CAUSES DIFFICULTY WITH MOTOR,
VISUAL-SPATIAL, AND SOCIAL SKILLS.
CHILDREN WITH NVLD ARE OFTEN WELL-
SPOKEN AND CAN WRITE WELL, BUT
STRUGGLE WITH SUBTLE SOCIAL CUES
AND COMPREHENSION OF ABSTRACT
CONCEPTS.
 NON VERBAL LEARNING DISORDER
(NLD) APPEARS TO BE THE CONSEQUENCE
OF AN ALTERATION IN THE COGNITIVE
FUNCTIONS LINKED TO THE RIGHT
HEMISPHERE. IT IS CHARACTERIZED BY THE
COEXISTENCE OF DIFFICULTIES IN
CARRYING OUT SOCIAL SKILLS, POOR
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, LOW
VISUOSPATIAL SKILLS AND MOTOR
CLUMSINESS
NLD IS CAUSED MOSTLY BY
PROBLEMS IN THE RIGHT SIDE OF
THE BRAIN. PROBLEMS DURING
PREGNANCY OR BIRTH INCREASE
THE RISK THAT YOUR CHILD WILL
HAVE NLD, SUCH AS: A MOTHER
WHO SMOKED, DRANK ALCOHOL,
OR WAS ILL WHILE PREGNANT.
VERY LONG LABOR AT BIRTH.
VISUAL PERCEPTUAL/VISUAL
MOTOR DEFICIT
VISUAL PERCEPTUAL/VISUAL MOTOR
DEFICITS AFFECT A CHILD'S ABILITY TO
UNDERSTAND THE INFORMATION THEY
VISUALLY SEE. THIS IMPACTS A CHILD'S
ABILITY TO READ AND AFFECTS THEIR
ABILITY TO DRAW OR COPY AND OFTEN
LEADS TO A SHORT ATTENTION SPAN.
DIFFICULTY NAVIGATING
SCHOOL GROUNDS OR OTHER
LARGER AREAS. FREQUENT
COMPLAINTS ABOUT EYE PAIN
AND ITCHINESS (CHILDREN WILL
OFTEN RUB THEIR EYES AS WELL)
TURNS HEAD WHILE READING OR
HOLDS PAPER AT ODD ANGLES.
INDIVIDUALS WITH VISUAL PERCEPTION
OR VISUAL PROCESSING PROBLEMS MAY:

-CONFUSE SIMILAR LOOKING WORDS

-REVERSE LETTERS OR NUMBERS
-HAVE POOR READING COMPREHENSION
-MAKE ERRORS COPYING
-EASILY FORGET LETTERS, NUMBERS OR WORDS
-BE A POOR SPELLER
-HAVE HANDWRITING THAT IS CROOKED OR POORLY SPACED
-HAVE DIFFICULTY FOLLOWING MULTI-STEPPED DIRECTIONS
-HAVE DIFFICULTY TELLING TIME OR UNDERSTANDING THE
CONCEPT OF TIME
POOR PAGE ORGANIZATION,
INCLUDING POORLY-ALIGNED
LETTERS, ILLEGIBLE WORDS,
AND IRREGULAR SPACING.
HOLDS PENCIL TOO TIGHTLY,
OFTEN RESULTING IN
BREAKING THE POINT.
THANK YOU!