Difference Between Intellectual Disability and Learning Disability (With Table)

There are so many disabilities, but we ignore them because of less knowledge about our bodies. Some disabilities are not even considered as disabilities by us because we are not aware and can become a chronic disability for us when not properly medicated.

Proper checkups and counseling are needed in these types of disabilities. Learning and Intellectual disabilities are the same categories of disabilities in which a person does not know that he or she is disabled until he or she is counseled by the doctor. And proper help and procedure can put away these types of disorders.

Intellectual Disability vs Learning Disability

The main difference between an Intellectual disability and a Learning disability is that an Intellectual disability is a disability in which the person loses communication skills and does not really cope with other people. Whereas, Learning Disability is a disorder of slow functioning of the neurons, and the person having this disorder cannot read and understands things properly.

Intellectual disability is a type of neurological disability in which people’s social life gets affected, and their interaction skill also decreases. A person with an intellectual disability is considered less intelligent than a normal person. Their grasping speed or learning speed is very slow as compared to others.

Learning disability is also related to neuron’s slow performance. It is a chronic disorder and cannot be medicated. The person who has a learning disability can read and write slowly but is intelligent in other ways from an average person. Albert Einstein was one of them, but he pursues his passion for physics and got success.

Comparison Table Between Intellectual Disability and Learning Disability

Parameters of Comparison

Intellectual Disability

Learning Disability

Definition

Intellectual disability is a type of neurological disability in which people’s social life gets affected, and their interaction skill also decreases.

The person who has a learning disability read and writes slowly but is intelligent in other ways from an average person.

Disorder type

Intellectual disability is a neurological disorder.

Learning disability is also related to neuron disability.

Affect

It affects people’s social life and communication skills.

It affects learning, reading, and understanding ability.

Cure level

The recovery level is high and proper help can balance the situation.

There is no proper help for this, and this disorder can become lifelong or chronic.

Non-functional areas

Communication skill, Memory, logical reasoning, etc.

Reading, writing, understanding, etc.

Treatment or therapy

Speech improving, Medication, Counseling, etc.

Visual techniques, logic building classes, etc.

Intelligent Quotient level

The person with an intellectual disability has an IQ level of around 65-75. Less than the average IQ level.

The person with a learning disability has an IQ level of around 20-35.

What is Intellectual Disability?

Intellectual disability is not a very known disability, and people having this disability may not get aware of their disability until they are counseled by the doctor. A person with having this disorder has an IQ level in the range of 65-75. Proper counseling sessions and social meetings can put away this disorder.

If not treated properly, this disorder can decares the IQ level of a person more and more rapidly. And can become a chronic disorder or lifelong problems. In the early period of time, this disorder was considered as mental retardants, and people get ashamed in talking about this with other people for help.

Intellectual disorder, when it becomes acute, can create health-related problems like changes in behavior from time to time and anxiety issues. Therefore it should be treated as early as possible with good counseling.

What is Learning Disability?

Learning disability does not affect people’s daily life tasks, but people with this disorder act slowly compared to others. The IQ of those peoples is in the range of 20-35, which is very low compared to the average IQ of a person. This disability stays lifelong and does not have a precise medication system.

Learning disabilities have so many categories like dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia, etc. The logic building time of a person increases with an increase in severeness of this disorder. But a person can be motivated and can be allowed to pursue his or her passion by taking proper improvement sessions.

People with a learning disability really did not know it early because it does not affect one’s life much. But by comparing others’ speed and a person’s speed who has this disorder can illustrate that his or her speed is relatively slower than the other person.

Main Differences Between Intellectual Disability and Learning Disability

  1. Intellectual disability is a type of neurological disability in which people’s social life gets affected, and their interaction skill also decreases While, the person who has a learning disability read and writes slowly.
  2. Intellectual disability, when it happens to a person, it decreases that person’s intelligence also. But Learning disability does not affect the intelligence of a person.
  3. The person with an intellectual disability has an IQ level of around 65-75. Whereas the person with a learning disability has an IQ level of around 20-35.
  4. Intellectual disability can be treated by the doctor. Proper treatment and prescriptions can cure the disability without making it a lifelong problem. Learning disability cannot be treated, and it stays like a chronic disorder, but it can be improved by taking speech sessions.
  5. If the Intellectual disability becomes chronic, it might decares the IQ level of the patient very rapidly. But in the case of Learning disability, the IQ level is already decreased and might remain the same.

Conclusion

Knowing yourself better might help you to know about these disabilities and your body functioning. Therefore giving yourself relaxation time can help. People who do not cope up with other peoples and who have lower communication ability come under these categories of disorders. Intellectual and Learning disorders can both be seen in the early life of a person or during childhood.

Intellectual disorder creates anxiety inside a person, and because of that, the talking and communication ability of a person decreases. 

On the other hand, the Learning disability reduces a person’s logic building, makes them slow in reading and understanding things. Intellectual disability can be treated by the doctor, proper treatment and prescriptions can cure the disability, but learning disability does not have any proper way of treatment.

References

  1. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-04378-012
  2. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED509596