ABSTRACT
Learning difficulties, including learning disorders, are a heterogeneous group of conditions that interfere with the ability to learn and apply basic academic and/or social skills. Congenital or neurodevelopmental learning disorders are present at birth and manifest throughout the lifespan becoming apparent as children and adolescents engage in increasingly challenging tasks, usually when they begin school. Psychologists and other clinicians may be most helpful to their clients who have a learning disorder when they promote prevention strategies at home and at school. Individuals who persistently and significantly struggle with learning may be diagnosed or identified (or both) with one or more neurodevelopmental disorders including intellectual disability, language disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and specific learning disorder. This chapter details each of disorders by their clinical names as they are identified in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5, International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems-11, and their corresponding Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act 2004 disability label.
