What is LD in Special Needs Education?

The term LD as an abbreviation has been so widely used throughout the world that today it could refer to almost anything and mean nothing. From the phrase Learning with a Difference, Laser Disco … to Learning Disabilities and Learning Disorders, LD has become a popular buzzword in Singapore, especially among those working with individuals with special needs in private practice, special schools and mainstream schools. For parents, the term LD can create a big anxiety in them if their children with learning challenges are unfairly or inaccurately labeled as having LD.

My first question is what is LD? What does L represent? What does D represent? Let us first look at the letter L first before we look at D.

The letter L refers to Learning. The word Learning with the suffix -ing referring to process should be seen as a form of cognitive behavior to gain knowledge or skill through “caught” (i.e., experience) or “taught” (i.e., studying) process (i.e., a gradual change through a series of actions that are done in order to attain a specific result).