LE1-2 - Ministry Definition of LD

The Definition of LD According to Memorandum 8 - Identification of and Program Planning for Students with Learning Disabilities

The Ministry of Education defines learning disability as one of a number of neurodevelopmental disorders that persistently and significantly has an impact on the ability to learn and use academic and other skills and that: 

• affects the ability to perceive or process verbal or non-verbal information in an effective and accurate manner in students who have assessed intellectual abilities that are at least in the average range; 

• results in (a) academic underachievement that is inconsistent with the intellectual abilities of the student (which are at least in the average range) and/ or (b) academic achievement that can be maintained by the student only with extremely high levels of effort and/ or with additional support; 

• results in difficulties in the development and use of skills in one or more of the following areas: reading, writing, mathematics, and work habits and learning skills; 

• may typically be associated with difficulties in one or more cognitive processes, such as phonological processing; memory and attention; processing speed; perceptual-motor processing; visual-spatial processing; executive functions (e.g., self-regulation of behaviour and emotions, planning, organizing of thoughts and activities, prioritizing, decision making); 

• may be associated with difficulties in social interaction (e.g., difficulty in understanding social norms or the point of view of others); with various other conditions or disorders, diagnosed or undiagnosed; or with other exceptionalities; 

• is not the result of a lack of acuity in hearing and/ or vision that has not been corrected; intellectual disabilities; socio-economic factors; cultural differences; lack of proficiency in the language of instruction; lack of motivation or effort; gaps in school attendance or inadequate opportunity to benefit from instruction. 

 

My definition:

Learning disability means that a person's brain has difficulty processing information that is received through the senses (hearing, seeing, etc.), and without strategies in place this will impact their ability to achieve or perform to their full potential. A person can have an LD in one area or several, and the LD can present with other disorders, such as ADHD. An LD is not a reflection of economic disadvantage, cultural differences, or environmental factors. For example, a multilingual person with an LD will experience their struggles in all languages. An LD is not a reflection on intelligence, as people with LDs generally have average to above average intelligence.

Which items were the same?

-at least average intellectual range

-presents with other conditions, such as ADHD

-not the result of hearing or vision troubles, socio-economic factors, cultural differences, multiple languages, laziness

Which items were different?

-specific mention of academic and other skills

-specific mention of academic underachievement or grade level achievement that can only be maintained with high levels of support

-specific mention of difficulty developing one or more of the following skills: reading, writing, math, work habits, learning skills

-more in-depth list of cognitive processes that could be involved: phonological processing, memory and attention, processing speed, perceptual-motor processing, visual-spatial processing, executive functions

-possible troubles with social interaction

-presents with other exceptionalities

-other things an LD is not: an intellectual disability, the result of gaps in attendance or lack of opportunity to attend school and benefit from instruction

Resonated for you:

Looking at the ministry definition is key learning in that the definition of learning disability is complex. Meeting the needs of a child with an LD is very complex -- with many bullet points to think about. This is why I'm here. I need to be able to go deep with my little class in the fall.