3.1: Definitions of Learning Disabilities

The federal definition included in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the most common definition of specific learning disability used in educational settings. However, there are other organizational definitions for specific learning disabilities, as well as state definitions. The IDEA defines learning disabilities as the following.

Specific learning disability means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.

Specific learning disability does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of intellectual disability, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage (Individuals With Disabilities Education Act [IDEA], Part B, Subpart A § 300.8(c)(10)(2004)).

The NJCLD Definition

In addition to the IDEA definition of learning disabilities, teachers and clinicians should be aware of the definition proposed by the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (2022):

Learning disabilities is a general term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities. These disorders are intrinsic to the individual, presumed to be due to central nervous system dysfunction, and may occur across the lifespan. Problems in self-regulatory behaviors, social perception, and social interaction may exist with learning disabilities but do not by themselves constitute a learning disability. Although learning disabilities may occur concomitantly with other disabilities (for example, sensory impairment, intellectual disabilities, emotional disturbance), or with extrinsic influences (such as cultural or linguistic differences, insufficient or inappropriate instruction), they are not the result of those conditions or influences.

Note that this definition attributes learning disabilities to central nervous system dysfunction. The central nervous system comprises the brain and the spinal cord and helps regulate and coordinate the body’s activities. The central nervous system can be damaged by trauma, infections, degeneration, structural defects, tumors, blood flow disruption, and autoimmune disorders that may result in language impairment (Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2022).

The APA Definition

The definition included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association broadly defines learning disabilities and is based on the individual’s family and medical history, as well as observations, interviews, and educational and psychological assessments.

1. Difficulties learning and using academic skills, as indicated by the presence of at least one of the following symptoms that have persisted for at least 6 months, despite the provision of interventions that target those difficulties:
   1. Inaccurate or slow and effortful word reading (e.g., reading single words aloud incorrectly or slowly and hesitantly, frequently guesses words, has difficulty sounding out words).
   2. Difficulty understanding the meaning of what is read (e.g., may read text accurately but not understand the sequence, relationship, inferences, or deeper meanings of what is read).
   3. Difficulties with spelling (e.g., may add, omit, or substitute vowels or consonants).
   4. Difficulties with written expression (e.g., makes multiple grammatical or punctuation errors within sentences; employs poor paragraph organization; written expression of ideas lacks clarity).
   5. Difficulties mastering number sense, number facts, or calculations (e.g., has poor understanding of numbers, their magnitude, and relationships; counts on fingers to add single-digit numbers instead of recalling the math facts as peers do; gets lost in the midst of arithmetic computation and may switch procedures).
   6. Difficulties with mathematical reasoning (e.g., has severe difficulty applying mathematical concepts, facts, or procedures to solve quantitative problems).
2. The affected academic skills are substantially and quantifiably below those expected for the individual’s chronological age, and cause significant interference with academic or occupational performance, or with activities of daily living, as confirmed by individually administered standardized achievement measures and comprehensive clinical assessment. For individuals age 17 years and older, a documented history of impairing learning difficulties may be substituted for the standardized assessment.
3. The learning difficulties begin during school-age years but may not become fully manifest until the demands for those affected academic skills exceed the individual’s limited capacities (e.g., as in timed tests, reading or writing lengthy complex reports for a tight deadline, excessively heavy academic loads).
4. The learning difficulties are not better accounted for by intellectual disabilities, uncorrected visual or auditory acuity, other mental or neurological disorders, psychosocial adversity, lack of proficiency in the language of academic instruction, or inadequate educational instruction (DSM-5-TR, 2022, p. 76–77).

---

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, Part B, Subpart A § 300.8(c)(10)(2004).

Johns Hopkins Medicine. (2022, September 1). Overview of nervous system disorders. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/overview-of-nervous-system-disorders

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed. text revision). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596