A Learning Disability affects the way a child understands, learns and remembers new information. It also impacts on the way a child communicates, manages independent living skills and social situations. Children with a Learning Disability tend to take longer to learn and may need support to develop new skills, understand complicated information and interacting with other people (www.mencap.org.uk).
A Learning Disability is a lifelong condition. It is not the same as a learning difficulty which tends to refer to a specific difficulty with a skill such as language or numeracy.
A child with a Learning Disability usually needs extra support to learn how to do things. And if they learn how to do something in one environment, they may struggle to switch those skills to another, such as between home and school. So it's common to hear school say a child can do something that they don't at home. A child with a Learning Disability will usually need help in managing new situations as this won't be something they've practiced before.
Will my child ‘catch-up’?
You were likely told that your child had developmental delay when they were little. Sometimes, children are able to develop and 'catch-up' with other children their age but in most cases, global developmental delay or Learning Disability is lifelong.
However, children with a Learning Disability can learn skills with extra support and live a happy and valued life. Lots of people with a Learning Disability go to college, have a job and have meaningful friendships and relationships.
Why does my Child have a Learning Disability?
It is not always clear why a child has a Learning Disability but there are some known reasons.
They may have a genetic syndrome. The most well known one is Down's Syndrome but there are thousands of different other types of genetic conditions - most don’t even have names yet.
A child may have experienced a traumatic or premature birth which affected their brain development. An example of this is Cerebral Palsy.
Less commonly, they may have been frequently exposed to a substance or not received enough sustenance when developing in the womb. An example of this is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
Most children are born with a Learning Disability but occasionally it's acquired later and they may have experienced damage to their brain in early childhood, for example from meningitis or measles.
For more information
Swansea Bay Healthboard have created a video explaining Learning Disability including information from clinicians and a parent with lived experience.
Understanding a diagnosis of global developmental delay (GDD) and a Learning Disability (LD) – Click here
Mencap have produced a video with people who have a Learning Disability describing what it means in their own words – Click here
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