Learning Disabilities 14 – 25

Learning Disabilities

What a learning disability is

A learning disability affects the way a person learns new things throughout their life.

A learning disability is different for everyone. No two people are the same.

A person with a learning disability might have some difficulty:

• understanding complicated information
• learning some skills
• looking after themselves or living alone

The degree of disability can vary greatly, being classified as mild, moderate, severe or profound. In all cases, a learning disability is a lifelong condition.

A learning disability is different to a learning difficulty, which includes conditions such as dyslexia (reading), dyspraxia (affecting physical co-ordination) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).  A person with a learning disability may also have one or more learning difficulties.

Additionally, there are a number of conditions and neurological disorders that often involve or cause some type of learning disability, including Down’s syndrome, autism, meningitis, epilepsy or cerebral palsy.

A learning disability is not a physical disability.

The NHS website has more information about Learning Disabilities: Learning disabilities - NHS (www.nhs.uk)