What is a Learning Disability?
This page explains what a learning disability is.
What is a Learning Disability?
A learning disability is about how your brain works.
It can make it harder for people to
- Learn new things
- Understand instructions
It can make things hard like
- Making friends
- Managing money
- Doing jobs around the house
People with a learning disability may need help to
- Develop new skills
- Talk to people
- Understand difficult things
People with conditions like Down syndrome and autism can have a learning disability.
A learning disability happens when the brain is growing.
This can be
- Before birth
- During birth
- Just after birth
Before birth
Genes are chemicals in the body that hold information like what colour our eyes will be. Certain genes can cause learning disabilities.
If the mom has an accident or illness when pregnant, it can sometimes cause a learning disability.
During Birth
If a baby does not get enough oxygen or their head is hurt during birth, it can cause a learning disability.
Being born too early can sometimes cause a learning disability.
After birth
After a baby is born, a learning disability can be caused by illness or an accident.
There are three different types of learning disability: mild, moderate and severe or profound.
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Mild means just a little.
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Moderate means quite a bit.
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Severe or profound means a lot.
The amount of support someone gets depends on their type of learning disability
Someone with a mild learning disability may only need a bit of support like paying bills and getting a job.
Someone with a severe learning disability would need a lot of care. They would need support with everything they do.
Getting diagnosed
Diagnosed is when the doctor tells you that you have a condition or illness.
A doctor will tell you that you have a learning disability.
A doctor can tell you at any time in your life you have a learning disability. Not just when you are born or when you are a baby.
It can take years to be told you have a learning disability.
Getting a diagnosis can be very upsetting.
A diagnosis is good because you can get the help and support you need.
With the right support, a lot of people with a learning disability in the UK can lead their own lives.
CASBA can give you that support.
We are funded to support people with learning disabilities. This can be diagnosed or undiagnosed. Our senior advocate will talk to you and decide if we can help.
Please refer to us if you are not sure. If we can’t help, we will do our best to help you find someone who can.
How to get help if you have a learning disability:
What is a Learning Difficulty?
Sometimes learning disabilities and learning difficulties get mixed up.
A learning difficulty does not change how much you can learn or do.
A learning difficulty is not the same as a learning disability.
There are lots of different learning difficulties.
Here are some examples
- Dyslexia
- ADHD
- Dyscalculia
Learning difficulties are different for everyone.
You can have more than one learning difficulty.
You can have a learning disability and a learning difficulty.
CASBA supports people with a learning disability. If you have other conditions too, we can support you. If you don’t have a learning disability either diagnosed or undiagnosed we will help you find an organisation that can help you.
