Learning disabilities is a broad term that covers a range of possible causes, symptoms, and treatments. Partly because learning disabilities can show up in so many forms, it is difficult to diagnose or to pinpoint the causes.
Not all learning problems are necessarily learning disabilities; many children are simply slow to develop certain skills. Because children show natural differences in their rate of development, sometimes what seems to be a learning disability may simply be a delay in maturation. To be diagnosed as a learning disability, problems must occur either in developmental speech and language disorders, academic skills disorders, or other coordination disorders and learning handicaps. Each of these categories includes a number of more specific disorders.