Key to Icons
	Pull down a file
	Link to the Internet
	Online Activity

For information on Bridges to Practice training in your area, please contact:
Dr. Rochelle Kenyon, Project Director
rkenyon721@aol.com

Not Trying Hard Enough?

So what exactly is a learning disability? As a teacher, you know that each of us learns differently. For most of us, the things we are not good at do not present major barriers. For many adults, however, difficulties in learning lead to difficulties in employment, education, and the rest of one's daily life.

A specific learning disability is unique to the individual and can appear in many different ways. It may be difficult to diagnose, to determine its impact, and also to accommodate.

Generally speaking, someone may be diagnosed with a learning disability if he/she is of average or above-average intelligence and there is:

• a lack of achievement at age and ability level; and

• a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability.

An untrained observer may conclude that a person with a learning disability is simply not trying hard enough.

It is sometimes difficult to understand how someone who is skilled in speaking has such a difficult time reading even the simplest text or why a very bright person takes such a long time to process information.