**NAE Learning Disabilities
A learning disability is a neurological disorder that affects a child's ability to interpret what is seen and heard. Learning disabilities interfere with a child's ability to store, process, or produce information, creating a gap between the child's ability and performance. 5% of all school age children in the U.S. are diagnosed with learning disabilities. Most of these children are of average intelligence or above.
Problems can show up with spoken and written language, motor skills, coordination, self control, or attention. They can impede learning to read, write, or do math, spelling and memory. Non-specific learning disabilities include delays that do not meet the criteria for a specific learning disability. Experts do not know precisely what causes learning disabilities, but contributing factors may be heredity, problems during pregnancy and childbirth, such as substance abuse, and injuries after birth, such as child abuse or lack of nutrition.
In pre-school children, failure to use language and inadequate motor skills may be early warning signs of learning disability. For school age children the primary indicator is difficulty learning grade-appropriate skills. Public schools are required to provide testing for children who may be at risk. Special education is the treatment of choice for learning disabilities in school. Learning disabilities are not cured, and do not go away, but individuals can learn to compensate for them and be academically and vocationally successful.