Define Autism Spectrum Disorder with Difference Between Autism and Learning Disabilities 

Back to: Learning and Teaching – Unit 4

Autism spectrum disorder is a complex developmental disorder that has an impact on how a person socializes with others. People with the autism spectrum have problems in interacting and communicating with others, face challenges of restricted interests and repetitive behavior. Autism spectrum disorder is different from learning disability, but it can have an impact on learning as it affects listening and speaking.

Difference Between Autism and Learning Disabilities

Following are the difference between autism and learning disabilities:

1. Autism is a condition with difficulties of social communication, restricted interests, and routines. A learning disability is the inability to do well in academic areas such as reading, writing, speaking, solving numerical and thinking logically.

2. A person with autism can be great at academics but struggle to interact with peers. A person with learning can interact properly with people but is poor at solving mathematical problems, writing, or speaking fluently. 

3. An individual with autism lacks the appropriate social skills which is not the case with a learning disability. People with learning disabilities can communicate more healthily with their surroundings.

4. An autistic person lacks empathy and feels disconnected from others whereas that is not the case for people with learning disabilities.

5. An individual with autism faces difficulty with new changes and experiences whereas a person with learning disabilities have problems with sending, receiving, and taking in information.

Conclusion

Many consider autism and learning disability to be similar but it’s not. The two diagnoses can co-exist but they are different from one another. Both the conditions are lifelong conditions without a cure.