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Indian Pediatr 2018;55:
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Terminological Confusion in Learning Disorders
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Varsha Vidyadharan* and Harish M Tharayil
Department of Psychiatry, Govt Medical College,
Kozhikode, Kerala, India.
Email: [email protected]
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"Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they
will not understand one another’s speech.’ So the Lord scattered them
abroad from there over the face of all the earth": Genesis 11: 7, 8
Specific learning disorders (SLD or LD) as per
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5 th
edition (DSM-5) is characterized by persistent and
impairing difficulties in academic skills.
These are diagnosed after ruling out other underlying
causes for scholastic backwardness.
There is terminological confusion in this area due to
the use of two terms – ‘learning disorder’ and ‘learning disability’.
Nelson’s Textbook of Pediatrics, 20 th
edition and many textbooks of Psychiatry use the same nomenclature and
sub classification as in DSM-5.
Consensus Statement of Indian Academy of Pediatrics
(IAP) uses the term learning disability, and states its equivalence to
SLD [1]. In the United Kingdom, learning disability is the term used to
denote mental retardation (intellectual developmental disability) in
ICD-11 and DSM-5 [1]. Few other Indian authors also use the term
learning disability instead of SLD [2,3]. LD probably affects around
5-10% of school-going children [1]. But difference in case definition
has led to variation in reported rates in India [4,5].
.
To complicate the situation further, the newly
enacted Revised Persons with Disability (RPWD) Act also uses the term
‘Learning disability’ for ‘Learning disorder’ but interventions and
disability provisions for two conditions are different.
Due to this confusion, we suggest that medical
personnel from all specialties stick to a single term ‘Specific Learning
disorder’. The term Specific Learning Disability is best abandoned as
its meaning differs in different contexts. Otherwise, we may end up in a
confused scenario where we ‘‘will not understand one another’s speech.’’
References
1. Nair MKC, Prasad C, Unni J, Bhattacharya A, Kamath
SS, Dalwai S. Consensus statement of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics on
evaluation and management of learning disability. Indian Pediatr.
2017;54:574-80.
2. Prema KS, Karanth P. Assessment of learning
disability: Language based tests. In: Karanth P, Joe R, editors.
Learning Disabilities in India, Willing the Mind to Learn.1st ed. New
Delhi: Sage Publications, 2003. p. 138-40.
3. Karande S. Current challenges in managing
specific learning disability in Indian children. J Postgrad Med.
2008:54:75-9.
4. Suresh PA, Sebastian S. Epidemiological and
neurological aspects of learning disabilities. In: Karanth P, Joe
R, editors. Learning Disabilities in India, Willing the Mind to
Learn.1st ed. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2003. p. 30-4.
5. John P. Co-morbid psychological disorders in learning disabled
children. In: Karanth P, Joe R, editors. Learning Disabilities in
India, Willing the Mind to Learn 1st ed. New Delhi: Sage Publications,
2003. p. 44-50.
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