A learning difficulty is a condition that makes learning harder than it is for most people. Not a lack of intelligence.
British usage distinguishes a specific learning difficulty, such as dyslexia or dyscalculia, which affects one area, from a learning disability, which affects overall intellectual functioning. That difference matters a great deal in education and in law. American English says learning disability for both. Diagnosis brings support and, often, an enormous relief, since being told you are lazy for years does real harm.
1nounlearning difficultyA condition that makes particular kinds of learning harder.
“She was assessed for a learning difficulty at nine.”
Practised in A Man Called Ove, Disability & Access
First appears in chapter 16 of A Man Called Ove.
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