I was just speaking this evening to the chapter head for our Learning
Disabilities Association here in Alberta, and she encountered this very
situation when they brought in a guest speaker from the UK.

She tells me that dyslexia is used in the UK as it is in the US, as a
blanket term rather than a specific term for one kind of learning
disability. The terms "learning disability" and "learning difficulty" can be
variously used to describe what we think of as learning disability -  a
person with average/above average intelligence or beyond who is not
functioning at an academic level appropriate for that level of intelligence.
IE, IQ 90-100+.

She also tells me that both the terms "learning disability" and "learning
difficulty" are also used in the UK in the way we might use the term
"developmental disorder" or the old words, mentally retarded. Clear as mud,
huh?

Sigh. We both concluded there is lot of work to do in this field to address
these variations in terminology.

And I would advise some caution - where did that term come from? And who
knows what Leeds social services means by that term and if they're using it
correctly. This mother says she has never been appropriately assessed.

-- Jodine Chase

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