Specific Learning Difficulties

What are Specific Learning Difficulties?

A Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD) is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting an individual's ability to receive, process and recall information — a difference or difficulty with particular aspects of learning. The term covers a range of learning difficulties:

• Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) / dyspraxia
• Dyscalculia
• ADHD (considered both a mental health difficulty and a SpLD)

An individual may have one SpLD or show signs of more than one. SpLDs are not connected to intellectual ability, or to social, economic or cultural background. Having a SpLD doesn't mean an individual can't achieve academically — but it will be harder and require greater effort. Understanding strengths and areas for development helps individuals build a "toolkit" of strategies suited to their learning preferences and needs.

Neurodiversity & SpLDs

Neurodiversity recognises normal variations in brain function that occur naturally across the human population — every one of us has a unique brain. It encompasses all SpLDs, many of which co-occur or overlap. Under the neurodiversity "umbrella", the following may also co-occur alongside a SpLD:

• Autism
• Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Tourette's Syndrome
• Anxiety
• Speech, language & communication disorders

Dyslexia & speech, language and communication needs

Many children with dyslexia do not have speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). A child with SLCN has a broader difficulty with language — their receptive skills (understanding language) or expressive skills (use of spoken language) are impaired.

However, there is a higher rate of SLCN among children who have dyslexia. Depending on age and a range of other factors, experts estimate that between 14% and 50% of children with dyslexia also show signs of additional speech and language difficulties (McArthur et al., 2000; Catts et al., 2005).

Dyslexia & mental health

Dyslexia is not neurologically linked to mental health difficulties. However, having dyslexia can cause stress, anxiety and low mood, because it can make learning difficult and inaccessible — causing frustration and sometimes exhaustion. Children with dyslexia are at higher risk of developing mental health difficulties (NIHR, 2020). Reading difficulties can lead to mental health difficulties through mechanisms such as low self-esteem, stigma and bullying — particularly for depression and anxiety. Equally, mental health difficulties can worsen existing reading difficulties through aversion to reading and an expectation of failure (NIHR, 2020).