Students with Learning Difficulties (LD) are catered for in Australia in both ‘main stream’ schools and in Special Schools. There are over 100 ‘Special Needs’ Schools in Victoria and over 1,200 in Australia to provide education for students with various learning difficulties (learning difficulties/disabilities of general nature, intellectual or physical) that fall into several categories ranging from mild to physical and severe learning difficulties. Table 1 shows the various categories of LD that can be found in the directory of special needs schools.
A useful definition of LD comes from the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada (LDAC) who defines LD as:
“A number of disorders which may affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or nonverbal information. These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning. As such, learning disabilities are distinct from global intellectual deficiency” (Learning Disabilities Association of Canada, 2002).