Learning Difficulties (General)

Background Information

In a general sense, learning difficulties can be characterised by:

• A discrepancy between general abilities and language skills
• Levels of work varying from day to day
• Poor short term auditory memory
• Confusions between ‘left and right’ and ‘east and west’
• Sequencing difficulties, e.g. alphabet order, months of the year, sessions, tables, lists of instructions, dates of birth
• Problems remembering the time
• Organisational difficulties
• A difficulty in hearing rhyme effectively
• A struggle to understand humour at times
• Problems understanding nuances and a literal interpretation of the spoken and written word, when it may not necessarily be appropriate
• Difficulties in processing conversation
• Problems with co-ordination
• Difficulties with word finding and pronunciation or articulation
• Inaccurate self image – “I must be thick/lazy/careless”.

In terms of studying, a person with learning difficulties may:

• Be slower at reading
• Have difficulties with reading comprehension and therefore summaries?
• Have problems de-coding new scientific words
• Lose place in a series or in reading
• Be a ‘quick forgetter’ rather than a ‘slow learner’
• Have poor strategies for ‘rehearsal’ of information into long-term memory
• Have difficulties memorising facts and new terminology
• Have severe handwriting problems
• Have difficulties with listening and taking notes – both sound interference and short-term auditory memory problems
• Have difficulties in copying from the board/OHP
• Have problems with reversals, e.g. Reading from a calculator
• Have severe and persistent spelling problems
• Struggle with getting ideas on paper, meaning that written work fails to adequately express students’ understanding, ideas or vocabulary
• Have difficulties with organisation, for example, with work, essays, projects, college life, notes and files
• Have trouble generalising and applying new rules
• Have problems working with background noise
• Have a short concentration span
• Need to be told information more than once.

Within this broad description, learning difficulties can be divided up into three levels: mild, moderate, and severe/profound. These can be characterised in the following ways:

• Mild learning difficulties can include mild conductive hearing loss; slight physical disability; poor hand/eye coordination; clumsiness; hyperactivity; a slowness to develop reading and writing skills; general immaturity; poor vocabulary; slowness to understand new ideas; and a short concentration span/distractibility.
• Moderate learning difficulties may include limited verbal and non-verbal skills and likelihood to learn at a slower pace than the other students. Students with moderate learning difficulties are more likely to have the following associated problems: poor memory; short attention span; slow progress in literacy and numeracy; limited ability to generalise and apply something learnt in one situation to another; and an inability to understand abstract ideas.
• Severe learning difficulties can include similar characteristics to moderate learning difficulties. However, students with severe learning difficulties will generally need a higher degree of adult support. Students generally show very limited ability and will need constant reassurance and praise. Students with profound and multiple learning difficulties have severe physical disabilities and learning difficulties. Sensory impairment is often present and students display little understanding of language and may have little or no speech.

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