Learning Disabilities
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Headline

Children covered by public health insurance are almost twice as likely as uninsured children and children with private insurance to be identified as having a learning disability (12 percent of children covered by public health insurance versus 6 percent of uninsured children and 7 percent of children with private insurance in 2004). (See Figure 2)

Importance

Learning disabilities include a number of discrete disorders that affect children's ability to learn. Professionals have defined three categories of learning disorders:

• speech and language disorders (e.g., trouble with articulation, difficulty understanding certain aspects of speech);
  
• academic skill disorders (e.g., dyslexia, writing difficulties related to hand movement, vocabulary or memory and mathematics disorders); and
  
• other disorders (including a set of diagnoses not meeting the criteria of the other two categories).¹

A learning disability can be a life-long condition affecting many aspects of life including education and employment, family life, and daily routines. However, persons with learning disabilities can learn. Academic supports and accommodations can help the learning process, as can medical treatment for certain disorders.² Children with learning disabilities are far more likely than other children to be enrolled in special education and to use health care services.³ It is not clear what causes learning disorders. However, existing evidence indicates a diverse set of causes related to difficulties in bringing together information from various parts of the brain. Possible causes for these disturbances include: genetic factors; maternal use of alcohol, drugs and tobacco during pregnancy; complications during pregnancy; and environmental toxins such as cadmium and lead.⁴ Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is not in itself a learning disability, but it often interferes with learning and is connected to academic skills disorders.⁵ Recent research estimates that a little under one-half of all children ages six to 11 identified as having a learning disability also have ADHD.⁶

Trends

Between 1997 and 2004, the proportion of children identified by a school official or health professional as having a learning disability varied only slightly, staying between 7 percent and 8 percent, and was 8 percent in 2004. (See Table 1)

Differences by Gender

Boys are more likely than girls to be identified as having a learning disability. In 2004, 10 percent of boys and 6 percent of girls ages three to 17 had a learning disability. (See Figure 1)

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Differences by Parental Education Level

Children with a parent who has a bachelor's degree or higher are less likely than other children to be identified with a learning disability. In 2004, 6 percent of children with a parent with a bachelor's degree or higher were identified as having a learning disability, compared with between 8 percent and 9 percent of children whose parents had less education. (See Table 1)

Differences by Health Insurance Coverage

Children covered by public health insurance are almost twice as likely as uninsured children and children with private insurance to be identified as having a learning disability (12 percent of children covered by public health insurance versus 6 percent of uninsured children and 7 percent of children with private insurance in 2004). (See Figure 2)

Differences by Welfare Receipt

Children living in families that receive welfare payments are much more likely than other children to be identified as having a learning disability (16 percent compared with 8 percent of other children in 2004). (See Table 1)

Differences by Race and Hispanic Origin

Non-Hispanic black children were more likely than Hispanic children to be identified as having a learning disability in 2004, when 10 percent of non-Hispanic black children were identified as having a learning disability, compared with 6 percent of Hispanic children. Non-Hispanic white children fell in the middle at 9 percent. (See Table 1)

Differences by Age of Child

The percentage of children who are identified as having a learning disability increases with age from 3 percent of three- to four-year-olds to 11 percent among 12- to 17-year olds. (See Table 1)

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Related Indicators

Children with Limitations, ADHD

State and Local Estimates

None

International Estimates

None

National Goals

None

What Works: Programs and Interventions that May Influence this Indicator

Click here to view examples of programs and interventions that research has evaluated for this indicator. View programs

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Research References

¹National Institute of Mental Health. Learning Disabilities: Decade of the Brain. NIH95-3611. Accessed March 30, 2006 at: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/general_info/gen-nimh-booklet.html#anchor109836N

²Ibid, page 16.

³Pastor P., Reuben C. 2002. Attention deficit disorder and learning disability: United States 1997-98. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 10(206). Page 1. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_206.pdf

⁴National Institute of Mental Health. Learning Disabilities: Decade of the Brain. NIH95-3611. Pages 7-8.
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/healthinformation/adhdmenu.cfm

⁵Ibid, page 6.

⁶Pastor P., Reuben C. 2002. Attention deficit disorder and learning disability: United States 1997-98. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 10(206). Table A. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_206.pdf

⁷Ibid, page 8.

⁸Pastor P., Reuben C. 2002. Attention deficit disorder and learning disability: United States 1997-98. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 10(206). Page 13. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_206.pdf

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Definition

The National Health Interview Survey asks adult respondents, typically a parent, the following question concerning their child: "Has a representative from a school or a health professional ever told you that (sample child) had a learning disability?"

To education and health professionals, a learning disability may exist when the child's level of achievement is substantially below what is expected by their intelligence level or ability to learn.⁷ Federal legislation regulating special education services in public schools defines a learning disability as "a disorder in one or more basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations."⁸

Parental education reflects the education level of the most educated parent in the child's household.

Data Source

Estimates for 1998-2004 are from original analyses by Child Trends of the National Health Interview Surveys for those years.

Estimates for 1997 from: Bloom B, and Tonthat L. Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Children: National Health Interview Survey, 1997 Vital Health Stat 10(203). 2002. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_203.pdf

Raw Data Source

National Health Interview Survey
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm

Date of Next Update

Winter 2006

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