Types of Specific Learning Disorders: The Terms Explained

By Laura Lurns · Reviewed by Philip Weaver · Last reviewed 2026-10-12

Are there different types of specific learning disorder?

The American Psychiatric Association's public page describes one diagnosis, specific learning disorder. A note can be added to that diagnosis for reading, written expression or math. In our view, those three notes are what the word "types" points to.

That page describes the manual. It is not the manual's own text. The page we read was reviewed in 2024.

Three places the names come from

Three sets of names may reach you. One comes from a US psychiatric manual, the DSM. One comes from the World Health Organization's list of medical codes, ICD-11. One comes from US special education law.

In our view, different groups use different names. A report may use one of them, or more than one.

Specific learning disorder, in a US psychiatric manual

A US psychiatric manual, the DSM, has a diagnosis called specific learning disorder. The American Psychiatric Association's public page describes it. That page describes the manual. It is not the manual's own text.

The page says the note "with impairment in reading (dyslexia)" can be added to one diagnosis. That diagnosis is called specific learning disorder. The note is added when there is "significant impairment" in one or more reading skills. Those skills include reading words correctly, reading speed and smoothness, and understanding what is read.

The page says math sits under one diagnosis, specific learning disorder. It says the note "with impairment in mathematics" can be added to that diagnosis. The page gives "dyscalculia" as another name for that note.

A US psychiatric manual, the DSM, lists trouble with written expression under specific learning disorder. Its 2013 edition lists spelling, grammar and organizing ideas, not handwriting. The American Psychiatric Association's public page lists "With impairment in written expression (dysgraphia)".

The page says the DSM's 2013 edition, DSM-5, changed the criteria for specific learning disorder. We hold no source on whether the 2022 revision, DSM-5-TR, changed these notes.

The American Psychiatric Association's public page says how a diagnosis is made. It lists watching and asking questions. It lists family history too. It also lists school reports.

Our page on dyslexia and specific learning disorder has more.

Our page on whether dyscalculia is a disability has more.

Developmental learning disorder, in the World Health Organization's list

ICD-11 is the World Health Organization's list of medical codes. It uses the name developmental learning disorder. It has separate codes for reading, written expression and math. We read its entries in 2026.

ICD-11 uses the name "developmental learning disorder with impairment in reading" for one code. That code covers reading words correctly, reading smoothly, and understanding what is read. In ICD-11, "developmental dyslexia" leads to that code.

ICD-11 uses the name "developmental learning disorder with impairment in mathematics" for one code. In ICD-11, "developmental dyscalculia" leads to that code.

ICD-11's code for trouble with written expression names spelling, grammar and organizing ideas. It names no handwriting skill.

ICD-11's reading code asks how a person reads for their age. It also asks how they read for their general ability. The International Dyslexia Association's 2025 definition dropped its older wording comparing reading with other thinking skills. We do not call either one wrong.

Specific learning disability, in US special education law

These are United States federal rules. Families elsewhere should ask what their own country provides.

As of September 2026, US law names a category called specific learning disability. As of September 2026, its definition lists trouble with listening, thinking or speaking. As of September 2026, it also lists reading, writing, spelling and math calculations. As of September 2026, the definition names dyslexia as an example. The category is how the paperwork is organized. It is not a word about your child. As of September 2026, that category leaves out problems caused mainly by a vision, hearing or motor disability. As of September 2026, that category also leaves out problems caused mainly by intellectual disability or emotional disturbance. As of September 2026, that category also leaves out problems caused mainly by environmental, cultural or economic disadvantage. As of September 2026, a group decides whether one of these applies to a child. As of September 2026, the group is made up of qualified professionals and you, the parent.

As of September 2026, the federal test for special education has two parts. Both must be true. The first is whether your child has one of the conditions the law names. The second is whether your child needs special education because of it.

So a child can have a doctor's diagnosis and still not qualify. A child can also qualify with no diagnosis at all. The federal rule stops there. Your state or district may still ask for medical information in some categories. Ask what they expect before the meeting.

As of September 2026, the word dysgraphia does not appear in the US federal special education regulations. As of September 2026, dyscalculia is not one of the named conditions. As of September 2026, the category's definition still lists writing, spelling and math calculations. That is how the paperwork is organized. It is not a word about your child.

Our page on parent rights under IDEA covers asking for an evaluation.

Disorder or disability?

The American Psychiatric Association's page talks about the two words. It calls specific learning disorder "a medical term used for a clinical diagnosis." It says schools and the law use the term learning disability. It says the two are "not exactly synonymous." That means not quite the same.

If you are in the UK

In the UK, the same words can mean something else. As of 2026, the charity Mencap says "a learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability." As of 2026, England's special education guidance (2015) uses the term "specific learning difficulties." It names dyslexia and dyscalculia among them. Where this page says learning disability, it means the US sense. If you are in the UK, ask which meaning a report uses.

What a name on a report cannot tell you

We cannot tell you which of these names fits your child. In our view, a name on a report describes the work, not the child.

Ask whoever used the name two questions. What did you see that made you use it? And what would you change on Monday because of it?

"Disorder" is the manuals' word, not ours for a child. Our rule is to describe patterns on these pages. We do not put a name on a child. To us, a child who finds school hard is not broken.

Our page on dysgraphia and dyslexia covers what each word means.

Our page comparing learning difficulties has more.

Our page on processing difficulties covers two more names a report may use.

What helps

In our view, the first step is usually to work out what is hard. The exception is a skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

If schoolwork worries you, talk with the teacher.

If your child has lost a skill

Some children could do something and now cannot. That is different from a child who has not built the skill yet. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

When to ask for help

Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.

• Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
• Schoolwork well below what school expects.
• A teacher who raises a concern about learning.
• Extreme upset about schoolwork.
• Complete avoidance of school or learning.
• Hopelessness about learning.
• Sadness or worry that lasts.
• Significant delays in speech, language or motor development.
• A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

If no skill has gone, start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, delays in speech, language or movement are worth raising with your child's doctor. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.

Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.