Skip to main content

Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing at Scouts. Read more

Discover what this means

Learning difficulties

Everyone has to cope with learning challenges on occasions, but it is the point at which such challenges become a problem in everyday life that they can be termed as presenting learning difficulties and extra help may be needed.

What are learning difficulties?

Difficulty vs Disability

What are learning difficulties?

Learning difficulties can be used to describe a range of problems, which arise from a number of causes. Learning difficulties can be specific in nature e.g. dyslexia or can have wider impact. Anyone who has a learning difficulty will need extra help, patience and understanding whilst undertaking any activities

There are a range of difficulties that an individual with learning difficulties may experience, from delays when processing new tasks to severe conditions where even the simplest tasks or activities are extremely challenging.

What are learning disabilities?

Mencap describe learning disability as a reduced intellectual ability and difficulty with everyday activities – for example household tasks, socialising or managing money – which affects someone for their whole life.

People with a learning disability tend to take longer to learn and may need support to develop new skills, understand complicated information and interact with other people. 

A learning disability is a permanent condition, which cannot be cured. It is often classified as mild, moderate, severe or profound. Some people with a mild learning disability can talk easily and look after themselves but take a bit longer than usual to learn new skills and may have difficulties understanding complex information. Others may not be able to communicate at all and have more than one disability.

Individuals with learning disabilities display a wide variety of abilities and with the right support in Scouting can participate in activities both as a young person and where appropriate an adult in Scouting. Getting to know the individual well and identifying their strengths and support needs is key.