Up to 10 per cent of children are affected by specific learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and autism, translating to two or three in every classroom, according to research.
The study also shows that children are frequently affected by more than one learning disability. The findings, published in the journal Science, could help to clarify the underlying causes of learning disabilities and the best way to tailor teaching for affected individuals.
Specific learning disabilities arise from atypical brain development with complicated genetic and environmental causes that can lead to conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
While these conditions in isolation already provide a challenge for educators, a further problem is that specific learning disabilities also co-occur