Fact Sheet About Learning Disabilities

“LDs – which is short for learning disabilities – affect one or more of the ways that a person takes in, stores, or uses information. LDs come in many forms and affect people with varying levels of severity. Between 5 and 10 percent of Canadians have LDs.

LDs are a life-long condition – they do not go away – but can be coped with successfully by using areas of strength to compensate and accommodations such as technology.

LDs and their effects are different from person to person, so a person’s pattern of learning abilities need to be understood in order to find good, effective strategies for compensation.”

There are a lot of myths surrounding learning disabilities that prevent children with LDs to receive help and support they should.

Learning-disabilities-LDs-do-not-really-exist-fact-lds-are-real-recent-research-indicates-neurological-differences-in-the-brain-structure

people-with-Learning-disability-ld-cannot-learn-fact-people-with-lds-are-smart-and-can-learn-lds-mean-learning-in-different-ways

Learning-disabilities-are-linked-to-a-lower-IQ-fact-kids-with-learning-disabilities-are-just-as-smart-as-you-and-me-most-kids-with-ld-have-average-or-above-average-intelligence

People-with-LDs-are-just-lazy-fact-people-with-LDs-often-have-to-work-harder-but-the-results-may-not-show-their-efforts

myth-accommodations-give-an-unfair-advantage-fact-fair-is-not-always-equal-accommodations-allow-people-with-LDs-to-work-to-their-level-of-their-ability-and-not-their-disability

All-LDs-are-outgrown-by-adulthood-fact-people-dont-outgrow-LD-Often-by-adulthood-people-have-found-ways-to-use-their-strengths-to-compensate-for-their-LDs-Many-adults-seek-work-environments-that-are-a-good-fit

myth-LDs-are-all-the-same-fact-LDs-are-complicated-and-vary-from-person-to-person-LDs-come-in-many-forms-and-affect-everyone-differently

myth-Learning-disabilities-and-ADHD-often-co-exist-fact-It-is-true-that-nearly-one-third-of-children-with-learning-disabilities-also-have-ADHD-however-ADHD-is-not-a-LD

myth-Messy-handwriting-is-a-sure-sign-of-dysgraphia-fact-although-many-people-with-dysgraphia-have-poor-hard-to-read-handwriting-not-all-do-In-fact-some-can-write-neatly-even-though-it-might-take-them-a-lot-of-time-and-effort

myth-Dyslexics-read-backwards-fact-Some-people-may-experience-word-reversal-seeing-bat-as-tab-for-instance-not-all-dyslexics-experience-this

Myth-People-with-LD-cannot-have-successful-career-fact-some-successful-people-with-LD-include-Richard-Branson-Keira-Knightley-Jay-Leno-and-Carol-Greider-just-to-name-a-few

myth-Learning-disabilities-affect-only-boys-fact-More-boys-are-diagnosed-with-learning-disabilities-66-percent-of-children-receiving-accommodations-in-the-united-states-are-boys

myth-Glasses-can-help-fix-learning-disabilities,-particularly-dyslexia-fact-Learning-disabilities-have-nothing-to-do-with-vision-dyslexia-is-a-brain-based-disorder-not-a-vision-based-one

Myth-Left-handedness-causes-learning-problems-Fact-Left-handedness-itself-is-unrelated-to-learning-When-there-is-no-impairment-of-this-kind-left-handers-learn-as-well-as-right-handers