The term intellectual impairment often describes individuals who have significant sub-average general intellectual functioning as well as an IQ at or below 70. According to the Roeher Institute "People with an intellectual disability have an intellectual or perceptual impairment that means they master basic and social skills more slowly. Individuals with this impairment may require particular supports and resources in order to be included and participate fully in literacy programs."18

This is where we see the key difference between these two groups of individuals; Individuals with intellectual disabilities have limited intellectual potential, whereas learners with learning disabilities have the ability to learn in spite of the difficulties they have processing information. When we work with individuals who have learning disabilities, it is important to consider the academic potential of the individual (there seems to be a significant gap between what would be expected, given the individual's ability, and what is actually accomplished).19

It is well documented in many articles that learning disabilities are characterized by a significant discrepancy between cognitive functioning and academic achievement. As an example, T. H. Miles explains that "a person is dyslexic provided that there is a discrepancy between his intellectual level (potential) and his performance at reading and spelling (achievement) and this discrepancy is accompanied by some other supporting "signs," like problems with left and right, poor sense of time, putting letters and figures the wrong way around, unusual difficulty in remembering mathematical tables, putting letters in the wrong order, et cetera."20

Pat Hatt once explained an important point about how to distinguish a learning disability from an intellectual disability: individuals tend to gravitate towards their potential. For instance, if you look at people with learning disabilities' previous experiences in life, they have held regular jobs and been responsible for families and somehow seemed to make it through, whereas a majority of individuals with intellectual disabilities tend to live and work in a supportive environment.21


18 The Roeher Institute Speaking of Equality: Making Literacy Programs Accessible to People with an Intellectual Disability - A Guide for Program Managers and Coordinators. North York, ON:, 1995, pp. 5 -7.
19 Characteristics of Adults with Specific Learning Disabilities by Dr. Paul J. Gerber excerpted from Serving Adults with Learning Disabilities: Implications for Effective Practice
20 Miles, T. R., Understanding Dyslexia (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1978).
21 Hatt, P. Workshop on Supporting and Sharing Best Practices in Learning Disabilities Practitioner Training, 2002.