Learning disabilities explained: types, signs, and your child's rights

Last updated 2026-07-09

What are learning disabilities, exactly?

A learning disability is not a problem with intelligence. That's the single most important thing to understand. Kids with learning disabilities often have average or above-average IQs; their brains simply process certain kinds of information, most often language, numbers, or motor sequences, in a different way than typical learners do. ^[1]

The term "specific learning disability" (SLD) is the legal label used under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. IDEA defines SLD as "a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations." ^[2] That quote matters because it's the language your school is legally required to use when evaluating your child.

In everyday conversation, parents and teachers use "learning difficulties and learning disabilities" almost interchangeably, but there's a technical difference. "Learning difficulties" is a broader, softer term, common in the UK, that can include any barrier to learning, including attention disorders or developmental delays that don't meet SLD criteria. In the U.S. system, a specific learning disability is a defined legal category that triggers specific rights and services.

Learning disabilities are neurobiological. Brain imaging studies show structural and functional differences in areas that handle reading, phonological processing, and working memory in people with dyslexia and related conditions. ^[3] They are not caused by poor teaching, bad parenting, laziness, or lack of effort, though inadequate instruction can make them much worse.

How common are learning disabilities in children?

About 1 in 5 children and adults in the United States has a learning or attention issue, according to the National Center for Learning Disabilities. ^[1] Inside the public school system, roughly 7.5 million students ages 3 to 21 received special education services in the 2021-2022 school year under IDEA. The largest single category was specific learning disabilities, covering about 33 percent of all students with IEPs. ^[4]

Dyslexia, a language-based learning disability that affects reading and spelling, is the most common SLD. Estimates range from 5 to 20 percent of the population depending on where researchers draw the diagnostic line, but the most widely cited figure in peer-reviewed literature puts it at around 10 to 15 percent. ^[3]

Dyscalculia (difficulty with math concepts and number sense) affects an estimated 5 to 8 percent of school-age children. ^[5] Dysgraphia (difficulty with the physical act of writing and written expression) has a less certain prevalence because it's frequently under-identified, but studies suggest it affects 5 to 20 percent of children.

Boys are identified more often than girls, but research increasingly suggests girls are underdiagnosed rather than less affected. Girls with dyslexia tend to use stronger compensatory strategies that mask the underlying difficulty, so they fly under the radar longer and get identified later. Nobody has perfectly clean data on the gender gap. The closest large-scale figures found boys identified at roughly twice the rate of girls in school settings, even when cognitive profiles were similar. ^[1]

What are the main types of learning disabilities?

The chart below summarizes the major specific learning disabilities, the area each affects, and prevalence estimates. Each one is a real neurological difference, not a catch-all for "kids who struggle in school."

Learning Disability	Core Difficulty	Estimated Prevalence
Dyslexia	Reading, decoding, spelling, phonological processing	10-15% of population [3]
Dyscalculia	Number sense, math facts, computation	5-8% of school-age children [5]
Dysgraphia	Handwriting, written expression, fine motor for writing	5-20% of children
Auditory Processing Disorder	Understanding spoken language despite normal hearing	~5% of school-age children
Language Processing Disorder	Attaching meaning to words, spoken and written	Overlaps with other SLDs
Nonverbal Learning Disability (NVLD)	Visual-spatial processing, math reasoning, social cues	Estimated 3-5%

Dyslexia gets the most attention, and rightly so, because reading is the gateway to almost every other academic skill. You can read the full dyslexia definition, but the short version is this: dyslexia is primarily a phonological processing problem. The brain has trouble breaking spoken words into their individual sounds and then mapping those sounds to printed letters. ^[3] It comes in several subtypes, including phonological dyslexia, surface dyslexia, deep dyslexia, and visual dyslexia, each with a slightly different profile.

Some children have what researchers call a double deficit: both phonological processing weaknesses and slow rapid naming speed. Those kids tend to have the most persistent reading difficulties and need the most intensive intervention.

Dyscalculia is often called "number dyslexia," though that's not accurate. Number dyslexia is a lay term; dyscalculia is a distinct disability affecting the intuitive sense of quantity (called number sense) and the ability to connect symbolic numbers to their meaning. A child with dyscalculia can know their times tables by rote and still struggle to grasp that 8 is more than 5.

NVLD gets missed constantly. Kids with NVLD often read well and have large vocabularies, so teachers assume they're fine. The difficulty shows up in math, visual-spatial tasks, reading comprehension of complex text, and reading social situations. Because they look like strong readers, they often don't get evaluated until late elementary or middle school.

What are the early warning signs of a learning disability?

The earlier you catch a learning disability, the better the outcomes. Research consistently shows that reading intervention works best when it starts in kindergarten through second grade. ^[6] By fourth grade, the gap between struggling readers and their peers is substantially harder to close, though it's never too late to help.

Here are real warning signs organized by age. These are not exhaustive, and no single sign means your child has a learning disability. But clusters of these signs, especially ones that persist despite good instruction, deserve attention.

Preschool and Kindergarten:

• Delayed speech or trouble finding words
• Difficulty learning nursery rhymes or songs with rhyming patterns
• Trouble recognizing their own name in print
• Difficulty learning the alphabet, even with lots of practice
• Family history of reading or spelling difficulty (dyslexia has a strong genetic component; if a parent has it, the child has a 40-60% chance of having it too) ^[3]

First and Second Grade:

• Reading significantly below grade level despite solid instruction
• Mixing up letters that look similar (b/d, p/q) well past the typical learning window
• Inability to sound out simple, unfamiliar words
• Avoidance of reading tasks, meltdowns around homework
• Trouble with simple spelling even after lots of practice
• Slow, labored handwriting that doesn't improve with practice

Third Grade and Beyond:

• Reads very slowly and with lots of errors, or reads words correctly but can't explain what they mean
• Terrible spelling in creative writing even if they pass spelling tests (they may be memorizing for the test)
• Math facts never stick even with flashcards and drill
• Written work looks much weaker than what the child can say out loud
• Big gap between listening comprehension and reading comprehension

For a closer look at signs of dyslexia specifically, that guide covers the full developmental picture. If you want to see what a formal evaluation looks like, the learning disability test article walks through the process step by step.

What causes learning disabilities, and can they be prevented?

Learning disabilities are neurobiological and largely genetic. Dyslexia, for example, has been linked to variations in several genes, including DCDC2, KIAA0319, and ROBO1, that affect how neurons migrate and organize during fetal brain development. ^[3] This is why learning disabilities cluster in families. If you struggled to learn to read, there's a good chance your child will too.

Environmental factors can raise the risk. Premature birth, low birth weight, prenatal exposure to alcohol or certain toxins, and lead exposure have all been associated with higher rates of learning disabilities. ^[7] But the presence of these risk factors doesn't mean a child will have an SLD, and the absence of them doesn't mean they won't.

Can you prevent them? Honestly, not in any reliable way. What you can prevent is the secondary damage: the loss of confidence, the reading gap that compounds every year, the avoidance behaviors that become entrenched. Early, explicit, structured literacy instruction based on the science of reading reduces reading failure rates even in kids who are genetically at risk. ^[6] That's not the same as preventing dyslexia, but it can mean a child with dyslexia learns to read close to grade level instead of falling two or three years behind.

Screen time, sugar, and parenting style do not cause learning disabilities. Those myths persist, and they do real harm by making parents feel guilty for something that isn't their fault.

What are your child's legal rights under IDEA and Section 504?

This is where things get practical. If you suspect your child has a learning disability, federal law gives you real power, and most parents don't know how much.

IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq.) requires public schools to identify, evaluate, and serve children with disabilities, including specific learning disabilities, at no cost to the family. ^[2] The law covers children from birth through age 21. Under IDEA, if your child qualifies, they get an Individualized Education Program (IEP): a written plan that spells out their goals, the services they'll receive, and the accommodations they're entitled to.

You don't need a diagnosis from a private psychologist to request a school evaluation. You can write a letter to the school principal or special education director requesting a full educational evaluation for suspected specific learning disability. The school then has a set window (typically 60 days, though some states set shorter timelines) to complete the evaluation and hold an eligibility meeting. ^[2]

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a separate civil rights law that covers a broader group of students. If a child has a disability that substantially limits a major life activity (learning is explicitly one), the school must provide reasonable accommodations even if the child doesn't qualify for an IEP. Common 504 accommodations for learning disabilities include extended time on tests, preferential seating, reduced homework volume, and access to audiobooks.

The practical difference: an IEP delivers specialized instruction. A 504 delivers accommodations. Many kids with learning disabilities need both, but schools sometimes offer a 504 when a child really needs an IEP. If your child is getting accommodations but still falling further behind, push for an IEP evaluation.

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights enforces Section 504. If a school denies your request for evaluation without good reason, or takes too long, you can file a complaint with your state's department of education or with the OCR. ^[8]

How are learning disabilities diagnosed and evaluated?

A proper learning disability evaluation isn't a single test. It's a battery of assessments that typically takes 6 to 10 hours of testing time, sometimes spread across multiple days. Here's what a thorough evaluation should include:

• Cognitive assessment: Usually the WISC-V (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children), which measures verbal comprehension, fluid reasoning, working memory, processing speed, and visual-spatial skills. This rules out intellectual disability and identifies processing strengths and weaknesses.
• Academic achievement testing: Tests like the WIAT-4 or WJ-IV measure reading, writing, and math performance across multiple subtasks, including phonological awareness, reading fluency, spelling, written expression, and math calculation.
• Phonological processing: The CTOPP-2 is the standard tool for measuring phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid naming speed, all of which are core markers for dyslexia.
• Behavioral rating scales and classroom observation: These put the test scores in context. A child who scores at the 75th percentile on one reading measure but is clearly struggling in class is sending a signal the numbers alone don't capture.

School evaluations are free and legally required when there's a suspected disability. Private neuropsychological evaluations through a psychologist or neuropsychologist go deeper and typically cost between $2,000 and $5,000 out of pocket, though some insurance plans cover part of this. ^[9] Private evaluations can be faster and sometimes more detailed, but schools are not legally required to adopt a private evaluation's conclusions, though they must consider it.

If you want to start with informal screening at home, a dyslexia test can help you spot patterns before you go through the formal process.

What does evidence-based instruction for learning disabilities actually look like?

The research here is clearer than most people realize. For reading disabilities specifically, the science of reading is not a trend or a philosophy. It's a large body of peer-reviewed evidence, built over decades, that converges on a very specific finding: structured literacy instruction that is explicit, systematic, and multisensory produces the strongest outcomes for students with dyslexia and related reading disabilities. ^[6]

Structured literacy covers six components: phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and handwriting or written expression. Programs built on this approach include Orton-Gillingham and its derivatives (Wilson Reading System, Barton Reading and Spelling), SPIRE, and RAVE-O. These are not cheap or fast. A full Wilson program, for example, takes 2 to 3 years of small-group or one-on-one instruction.

The National Reading Panel's 2000 report and more recent work from the Florida Center for Reading Research both found that systematic phonics instruction beats whole-language or balanced literacy approaches for children who struggle with decoding. ^[6] This has real implications for parents. If your child's school uses a balanced literacy curriculum without systematic phonics, it may be making your child's reading disability worse, not better.

For math disabilities, the evidence points to explicit instruction in number sense, concrete-representational-abstract (CRA) sequencing, and fact fluency through distributed practice rather than massed drill.

For writing disabilities, accommodations like speech-to-text and typed responses often work better than more handwriting practice, though occupational therapy can help kids with dysgraphia build the underlying fine-motor skills.

Home practice tools, like sight word flashcards, dolch sight words lists, and sight words worksheets, can supplement structured literacy instruction, not replace it. They're most useful once a child has enough phonics knowledge to start reading connected text fluently. The ReadFlare reading toolkit has printable versions organized by grade level if you want a ready-made starting point.

One honest caveat: no intervention works for everyone, and the research base for some specific programs is thinner than their marketing suggests. If a school or clinic promises dramatic results in a few months, be skeptical.

How should parents talk to schools about learning disabilities?

Schools vary wildly. Some are proactive, identify kids early, and offer strong services. Others don't evaluate until a child is so far behind that the gap feels catastrophic. You need to know how to push effectively without burning relationships.

Start with a written request. Email leaves a paper trail that a hallway conversation doesn't. Send a letter to the special education director requesting a full evaluation and ask for written confirmation that they received it. The school's clock for responding typically starts on the date they receive that written request. ^[2]

Go to every IEP or 504 meeting prepared. Bring data: your child's grades, samples of their work, any outside testing you've had done, and a written list of your concerns. You have the right to bring an advocate or even an attorney to these meetings. Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs), funded by the federal government, provide free advocacy support in every state. ^[10]

Know that you can disagree with the school's evaluation. If the school evaluates your child and concludes they don't have a learning disability, but you believe they do, you can request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at the school's expense. The school can refuse to fund it, but if they refuse, they must initiate a due process hearing to justify their evaluation. Many schools agree to the IEE rather than go to hearing. ^[2]

Be persistent but specific. Vague concerns get vague responses. "My child is struggling" is easy to dismiss. "My second-grader cannot reliably decode consonant-vowel-consonant words after two years of reading instruction and scores at the 12th percentile on the DIBELS NWF measure" is much harder to ignore.

If you need a thorough preparation resource, the parent advocacy kit from ReadFlare includes letter templates, meeting checklists, and a rights summary card you can bring to school meetings.

What is the difference between learning disabilities and other conditions like ADHD or anxiety?

This is genuinely complicated, and the honest answer is that these conditions overlap constantly. ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is not a learning disability under IDEA's strict SLD definition, but it can co-occur with one, and it absolutely interferes with learning. Research estimates that 30 to 50 percent of children with dyslexia also have ADHD. ^[11]

Anxiety is another frequent companion. A child who has struggled to read for three years has usually piled up a lot of shame and fear around reading. That anxiety is real and needs treatment, but it's the result of an unaddressed learning disability, not the cause of the reading difficulty. Treating anxiety alone won't teach a child to decode.

Autism spectrum disorder can also affect reading and writing, though in different ways and with different instructional implications than classic dyslexia.

Schools and evaluators sometimes diagnose one condition and miss another because they stop looking once they find something. A good evaluation should assess for multiple possibilities at once. If your child's IEP is in place but they're still not making progress, it's worth asking whether a co-occurring condition is being missed.

The practical takeaway: getting the right label matters because it shapes the intervention. Treating ADHD inattention with dyslexia instruction won't work. Neither will treating dyslexia with ADHD coaching. A thorough evaluation is the only way to sort this out accurately.

Can adults have learning disabilities, and how does that work?

Yes. Learning disabilities are lifelong. They don't disappear when a child turns 18 or leaves school. Many adults were never diagnosed as children, especially people who grew up before the current understanding of dyslexia and related conditions existed. ^[1]

For students still in high school (under 21), IDEA still applies. For adults in college or the workplace, protections shift to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504. Colleges must provide reasonable accommodations (extended time, note-taking support, alternative testing formats) if a student can document their disability with appropriate evidence. The college does not have to provide the same level of support a K-12 IEP requires. ^[12]

Adult diagnosis is possible and can be worth it for self-understanding, career planning, and accessing accommodations. Most adult evaluations are done by licensed psychologists and cost in the same $2,000 to $5,000 range as pediatric evaluations, with wide variation by region.

Many adults with learning disabilities build highly successful careers. The neurological differences that make reading harder sometimes come with genuine strengths in visual thinking, pattern recognition, big-picture reasoning, and creative problem-solving. That's not a consolation prize. It's a documented phenomenon in the research literature, even if the mechanism isn't fully understood.

What are the most effective things parents can do at home right now?

Waiting for the school to act is often the wrong strategy. The evaluations take months. Services, once approved, often don't start immediately. Here's what you can actually do in the meantime.

First, read aloud to your child every single day, even if they're in middle school. Listening to books exposes kids to vocabulary and complex sentence structures their own reading level can't reach yet. It keeps them engaged with stories and ideas while their decoding catches up. There is no age too old for read-alouds.

Second, take the pressure off silent independent reading until your child has better decoding skills. Forcing a kid with dyslexia to read alone before they have enough phonics knowledge builds avoidance faster than skill. Audiobooks are a legitimate accommodation, not cheating.

Third, get systematic about phonics at home if your child's school isn't providing it. Decodable readers (books written to use only the phonics patterns a child has already been taught) are genuinely useful. So are apps like Phonics Hero and programs like Barton, which is designed to be parent-delivered.

Fourth, look at your child's physical setup. Some kids with learning disabilities also have visual processing issues that make certain fonts or spacing harder to read. Tools like dyslexia fonts won't fix an underlying phonological issue, but reducing visual crowding can cut unnecessary friction.

Fifth, protect your child's confidence. Kids who get labeled "stupid" or "lazy" by peers, teachers, or even themselves carry those beliefs for decades. Tell them, often and specifically, that their brain is wired differently, not broken. Find something they're genuinely good at and make sure they get to do it regularly.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most common learning disability in children?

Dyslexia is the most common specific learning disability, affecting an estimated 10 to 15 percent of the population. It's primarily a phonological processing issue that makes reading, decoding, and spelling difficult. Dyscalculia (math difficulty) and dysgraphia (writing difficulty) are also common, each affecting roughly 5 to 8 percent of school-age children. Many children have more than one.

At what age are learning disabilities usually diagnosed?

Formal diagnosis most often happens in first through third grade, when academic demands make the disability visible. Warning signs like delayed speech, trouble learning rhymes, or difficulty recognizing letters can appear in preschool. Research shows intervention works best before age 8, so earlier evaluation is better. Many children, especially girls, are not diagnosed until middle school or later.

How is a specific learning disability different from a learning difficulty?

In the U.S. legal context, a specific learning disability (SLD) is a defined category under IDEA with diagnostic criteria that trigger federally mandated services. "Learning difficulty" is a broader, informal term, common in the UK, that includes any barrier to learning, including attentional or developmental issues that don't meet SLD criteria. A child can have learning difficulties without qualifying for an SLD designation under IDEA.

Can a child outgrow a learning disability?

No. Learning disabilities are neurobiological and lifelong. What changes with effective instruction is how well a person compensates and functions. Many adults with dyslexia become fluent readers with strong comprehension; the underlying phonological processing difference stays, but its impact shrinks significantly with the right instruction and practice. 'Outgrowing' a learning disability usually means the disability went undiagnosed.

Does my child need a private diagnosis before the school will help?

No. Under IDEA, you can request a full educational evaluation directly from your public school at no cost. Write a letter to the special education director requesting an evaluation for suspected specific learning disability. The school must respond in writing and typically has 60 days (varies by state) to complete the evaluation. A private evaluation can add useful information but isn't required to start the process.

What is an IEP and how is it different from a 504 plan?

An IEP (Individualized Education Program) is a legal document under IDEA that provides specialized instruction and services for children who qualify. A 504 plan, under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, provides accommodations (like extended time or audiobooks) without specialized instruction. IEPs are for children whose disability affects their ability to access education in a standard classroom; 504s are for children who can access the standard curriculum with adjustments.

Is ADHD considered a learning disability?

No. ADHD is not classified as a specific learning disability under IDEA, though it can be covered under the 'Other Health Impairment' category if it significantly affects educational performance. ADHD frequently co-occurs with learning disabilities, with research showing 30 to 50 percent overlap with dyslexia. A child can have an IEP or 504 plan for ADHD. The conditions require different interventions, so accurate diagnosis of both matters.

What is dyscalculia and how is it treated?

Dyscalculia is a specific learning disability affecting number sense, math fact retrieval, and mathematical reasoning, despite normal intelligence. It affects an estimated 5 to 8 percent of school-age children. Effective interventions include explicit instruction in number sense using manipulatives, the concrete-representational-abstract (CRA) sequence, and distributed practice for fact fluency. Accommodations like calculator use, extra time, and graph paper can reduce the impact on daily tasks.

How do learning disabilities affect girls differently than boys?

Boys are identified with learning disabilities at roughly twice the rate of girls in school settings, but research suggests girls are underdiagnosed rather than less affected. Girls with dyslexia tend to develop stronger compensatory strategies, use context clues more effectively, and mask reading difficulty by working harder. This means they're often identified later, after more academic damage has accumulated. Girls are also more likely to internalize difficulty as a personal failure rather than showing behavioral signals.

What accommodations are schools required to provide for learning disabilities?

Under IDEA, schools must provide whatever specialized instruction and services a child with an SLD needs to make meaningful educational progress, as outlined in their IEP. Specific accommodations vary by individual need but commonly include extended time on tests, preferential seating, access to audiobooks, reduced written output requirements, use of assistive technology, and small-group instruction. Section 504 covers accommodations for students who have a disability but don't qualify for an IEP.

Can a learning disability be caused by too much screen time?

No. Learning disabilities are neurobiological, rooted in genetics and brain development, not caused by screen exposure. Excessive screen time can displace reading practice and affect attention, which may worsen a child's reading difficulties, but it doesn't create dyslexia, dyscalculia, or other SLDs. This myth persists and causes unnecessary guilt. The actual causes are genetic and prenatal factors, not parenting choices around screens.

What should I do if the school says my child doesn't qualify for special education?

First, ask the school to explain in writing why your child doesn't qualify and what data they used. Review the evaluation report carefully. You have the right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at the school's expense if you disagree. You can also consult your state's Parent Training and Information Center (PTI) for free advocacy support. If the school refuses the IEE without a due process hearing, that's a procedural violation you can report to your state education agency.

Are there any signs of a learning disability I can look for at home?

Yes. Watch for persistent difficulty learning letter sounds, extreme slowness or avoidance around reading and writing, spelling that doesn't improve despite practice, handwriting that's much weaker than peers, or a big gap between what your child understands when you read to them versus what they understand reading alone. Trouble memorizing math facts despite lots of practice is a signal too. A cluster of these signs, especially with a family history, warrants a formal evaluation.

Do learning disabilities qualify for testing accommodations on the SAT or ACT?

Yes. Both the College Board (SAT) and ACT offer accommodations for documented learning disabilities, including extended time (typically 50 or 100 percent extra), breaks, and alternative formats. Students usually need recent documentation, meaning an evaluation within three to five years, and the disability must significantly affect a major life activity. Schools often help coordinate accommodation requests, but you can also apply directly through the testing organization.

Sources

1. National Center for Learning Disabilities, The State of LD: Understanding the 1 in 5: About 1 in 5 people in the U.S. has a learning or attention issue; boys identified at roughly twice the rate of girls even when profiles are similar
2. U.S. Department of Education, IDEA Statute 20 U.S.C. § 1400: IDEA definition of specific learning disability; school evaluation rights; 60-day evaluation window; IEE rights; due process procedures
3. Shaywitz, S.E. & Shaywitz, B.A. (2008). Paying attention to reading: the neurobiology of reading and dyslexia. Development and Psychopathology, 20(4), 1329-1349.: Dyslexia prevalence 10-15%; neurobiological basis including brain imaging differences; phonological processing as core deficit; 40-60% heritability
4. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics 2022: Approximately 7.5 million students ages 3-21 received special education under IDEA in 2021-2022; specific learning disabilities are the largest single category at about 33% of IEPs
5. Butterworth, B., Varma, S., & Laurillard, D. (2011). Dyscalculia: from brain to education. Science, 332(6033), 1049-1053.: Dyscalculia affects an estimated 5 to 8 percent of school-age children; rooted in deficits in number sense
6. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Report of the National Reading Panel (2000): Systematic phonics instruction more effective than whole-language for struggling readers; structured literacy and early intervention produce strongest outcomes; reading intervention most effective in kindergarten through second grade
7. CDC, Facts About Developmental Disabilities: Premature birth, low birth weight, prenatal alcohol exposure, and lead exposure associated with higher rates of learning and developmental disabilities
8. U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Section 504 and the ADA: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act protects students with disabilities that substantially limit a major life activity including learning; OCR enforces complaints
9. Child Mind Institute, Getting a Neuropsychological Evaluation: Private neuropsychological evaluations typically cost $2,000 to $5,000 out of pocket; some insurance covers part of the cost
10. U.S. Department of Education, IDEA Parent Training and Information Centers: Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) are federally funded and provide free advocacy support to families in every state
11. Germano, E., Gagliano, A., & Curatolo, P. (2010). Comorbidity of ADHD and dyslexia. Developmental Neuropsychology, 35(5), 475-493.: 30 to 50 percent of children with dyslexia also have ADHD; the conditions co-occur at rates far above chance
12. U.S. Department of Justice, ADA and Section 504 in Postsecondary Education: Adults with learning disabilities are protected by the ADA and Section 504 in college and workplace settings; colleges must provide reasonable accommodations with documentation