David (and list):
The terminology difference between the UK and US
is quite large, and makes for much confusion. What
folks in the US call "mental retardation," with
ensuing modifiers like "severe," "moderate," "mild"
etc., is termed "learning disability" in the UK.
What's called "learning disability" in the US is
called "learning difficulty" here, a category that
also is used in education settings to encompass
dyslexia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia and a myriad of other
conditions under the umbrella of "specific learning
difficulty."
I suspect that in both systems the use of
varying terms is meant to make a distinction between
avaerage/above average people who have problems with
one or more specific types of learning tasks, and
people who have an overall difficulty with a ide
variety of learning tasks.
But as Larry pointed out in an earlier post,
while this may be perceived as a kindness, it can
lead to all sorts of arbitrary decisions, especially
regarding people on the autistic spectrum, where "IQ
scatter" is frequently involved along with specific
learning difficulty. Professionals working with
people who have ASD often overlook the abilities and
focus on the "disabilities"; they may also overlook
barriers to learning that have little to do with
supposedly innate ability or lack thereof, such as
factors in the learning environment or teaching
style. And so, as Larry notes, many people with ASDs
who have difficulties with certain kinds of tasks but
are otherwise able find themselves shunted out of LD,
MR or developmental disability services and into
mental health services, which aren't that great of a
fit either.
It's a Catch 22 if there ever was one.
People with difficulties following head injury
or brain disease are also put in a difficult
sitution, BTW--if you are not dx'd as "learning
disabled" or "mentally retarded" in childhood but
later develop problems with learning or relearning,
just where do you fit in this arbitrary system?
Hope this helps get things started.
----- Original Message -----
From: "David J. Connor" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sunday, February 23, 2003 5:50 pm
Subject: Re: learning disability or difficulty?
> Hi
> I would also like to develop a discussion around this topic. In
> addition, I
> am interested in the differences between the use of "learning
> disability" in
> the UK and USA. In the US, LD is encoded in law/medicine/education
> as a
> person with "average" intelligence who has, by and large,
> difficulty in
> processing information therefore unable to meet (socially-constructed,
> normed) academic requirements in school. In other words, the actual
> academicperformance is markedly discrepant from "age appropriate"
> expectations. Of
> course, this makes LD is an extremely problematic concept for many,
> manyreasons... Still, I am intersted in how LD is
> conceptualized/described/usedin the UK and would be interested to
> know, especially in terms of how it
> impacts children's experience in school.
> Thanks
> David Connor
> Teachers College, Columbia University
>
>
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