Is Autism a Learning Disability? Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is not a learning disability, but it can affect learning — in part because autism can affect language skills, both when listening and speaking.
Minor delays in development are usually not a cause for alarm, but significant delays or delays in multiple areas might be signs of something bigger, such as autism.
Slow learners typically do not have a disability, even though they need extra support. They are stuck between a rock and a hard place: their cognitive abilities are too high to be considered for an intellectual disability, but their cognitive abilities are usually too low to be considered for a learning disability.
There are different types of causes of slow learning. Among these, low intellectual abilities such as sub-normal IQs, some personal factors, psychological factors, environmental factors etc are very common causes of slow learning.
Definition of slow learners
The slow learner is generally considered as a student who achieves a full-scale score between 70 to 85 (or 89) on formal IQ testing. This range of IQ is thus considered as a borderline intellectual disability (cognitive impairment) or low average intellectual capability.
Slow Processing Speed Associated with ADHD
Children with the predominantly inattentive subtype of ADHD may have a sluggish cognitive tempo. They typically daydream, stare off, and appear spacey. They may be mentally foggy, underactive, slow moving, and lethargic. Their work is often slow and error prone.
Slow processing speed is most frequently the result of genetics. In all likelihood, either you, your child's other parent, or a close biological relative has had difficulty with processing information efficiently.
So, what's the difference between ADHD and an LD? An LD makes it difficult to acquire specific skills such as reading skills or math skills. By contrast, ADHD impacts more global skills and executive functions like the ability to focus, the ability to control emotions, and the ability to control impulsive behaviour.
Mild autism is level 1 autism spectrum disorder. It means a person does not have severe symptoms and needs a lower level of support than someone else with autism. People with mild autism still have a hard time communicating and interacting with others.
There are several conditions that resemble or have autism-like symptoms such as developmental delays, language disorders, motor impairments, attention-deficit, anxiety, brain injury, chromosomal abnormalities, and severe emotional and behavioral disturbance – just to name a few.
A child with a speech delay tends to naturally use body language and eye contact. Autistic children, on the other hand, may have trouble with social interaction, play skills, communication, and behavior. Children with autism may prefer to be alone.
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is not a learning disability; however, it does make learning difficult. For example, it is hard to learn when you struggle to focus on what your teacher is saying or when you can't seem to be able to sit down and pay attention to a book. You can have both.
In general, children with ADHD are right-brained learners. They prefer to learn visually — by watching or doing a task in an activity-based, hands-on format, not by listening to lectures, practicing drills, or memorizing. There are many ways to implement visual learning outside the classroom.
The IQ of Slow Learner is between 80 and 90 (as per Stern and Terman).
Slow processing speed can be caused by damage to the neurological pathways. However, more often, young people process information slowly as a result of difficulty controlling attention, inefficient access to stored knowledge and skills, or breakdowns in the systems that support organised thinking and processing.
Learning disabilities include a group of disorders such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia.
ADHD is not on the autism spectrum, but they have some of the same symptoms. And having one of these conditions increases the chances of having the other. Experts have changed the way they think about how autism and ADHD are related.
Learning disorders are believed to occur because of an abnormality in the nervous system, either in the structure of the brain or in the functioning of brain chemicals. The difference in the nervous system causes the child with a learning disorder to receive, process, or communicate information in a different way.
They must be given freedom to experience, experiment and learn. Motivate them and do not allow them to give up. Slow learners have he ability to make simple generalisations however they should be given ample opportunities to experiment, explore and discuss. Do not be over protective.
Done effectively, slow learning can help you focus better, understand more and stack knowledge for life. It's a better approach to move knowledge from your working memory to your long-term memory bank. Over the long term, slow learners retain more than faster learners.
The brain's frontal lobes, which are involved in ADHD, continue to mature until we reach age 35. In practical terms, this means that people with ADHD can expect some lessening of their symptoms over time. Many will not match the emotional maturity of a 21-year-old until their late 30's.