What Are the Different Kinds of Learning Disorders?

Having a learning disorder doesn’t mean that you’re not smart. It just means that you have a hard time building certain skills — like those involved in reading, writing, doing math, or recognizing patterns. Learning disorders vary a lot, so it’s important to know which one you have. The right diagnosis can help you get the support you need.

Dyslexia

Dyslexia is one of the most common learning disabilities. If reading feels very difficult for you, you might have dyslexia. You might struggle with things like: 

• Sounding out new words

• Recognizing words when you’re reading, even if you know what the word means and can easily understand it in conversation

• Mixing up letters, like reading “saw” as “was”

• Spelling, especially when the word looks very different from how it sounds aloud

• Reading aloud

• Taking notes or copying down information

• Following written directions

• Writing out your ideas

• Learning a new language

• Activities outside of class, like learning the rules to games, understanding signs, or telling time

While people use the term “dyslexia,” the technical diagnosis is specific learning disorder with reading difficulty.

Dyscalculia

People with dyscalculia have a very hard time learning and doing math. If you have dyscalculia, you struggle with things like:

• Completing math problems and doing math in your head. You might still need to use your fingers to keep track when you’re counting

• Keeping up in math class and grasping new mathematical concepts, like fractions or algebra. Word problems might be especially challenging

• Mixing up mathematical symbols, like doing an addition problem when it was supposed to be subtraction

• Reading charts and graphs

• Using numbers outside of school, like telling time, remembering addresses, or managing money

The technical diagnosis for dyscalculia is specific learning disorder with math difficulty.

Dysgraphia

Dysgraphia is a learning disorder that makes writing difficult. There are two kinds of skills involved with dysgraphia: the physical process of writing and the mental process of figuring out what to write and how to write it. You might have trouble with both kinds of skills or just one kind.

If you have dysgraphia, you might struggle with:

• Holding a pen or pencil correctly

• Making your handwriting clear enough to read

• Writing fatigue, which means that writing by hand feels painful or exhausting

• Spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure

• Expressing your ideas in writing

Dysgraphia isn’t technically a diagnosis. If you have it, your diagnosis depends on what kinds of skills you have trouble with. The diagnosis could be dyspraxia if you have trouble with the physical part of writing or specific learning disorder with writing difficulty if you have trouble with the mental part. You could also be diagnosed with both.

Nonverbal learning disorder 

Nonverbal learning disorder — sometimes called NVLD or NLD — involves difficulties with “nonverbal” kinds of learning, like recognizing patterns and concepts. NVLD can look very different in different people. If you have it, you might have trouble with:

• Understanding visual and spatial information, like how far away an object is or how objects relate to each other in space. You might bump into things a lot, have a hard time drawing what you see, or struggle with activities like sports and driving because they involve reacting quickly to things you see

• Finding the big idea in detailed information — maybe you have a hard time summarizing what you read. Or you write down everything your teacher says because you’re not sure what’s most important

• Reading other people’s body language and facial expressions — you might find social situations confusing or overwhelming

• Doing advanced math — you might be really good at memorizing information but struggle when you have to apply it to bigger concepts

• Organizing projects and making plans — maybe you have a hard time breaking a big project into smaller steps or deciding how to start it, even when you really want to

Nonverbal learning disorder is not a formal diagnosis, but a professional can help you figure out what kinds of support would be most helpful to you.