Learning To Read as an Adult Takes Courage By Janette Rose The idea of learning difficulties is not a new one. Ever since a written method of communication was first developed there have been individuals experiencing difficulties with learning to read and write. You probably know someone who has problems or may experience difficulties yourself. What is new is a growing awareness that in any given population, according to the National Institutes of Health, 17 to 20 percent of normal, intelligent people have difficulty learning or mastering one or more of the language-related skills: reading, spelling, writing, listening and speech. These difficulties are commonly referred to as learning disabilities. The term learning disability covers a broad spectrum. Besides language-related deficits, frequently in the form of dyslexia, the term includes difficulties in the functions of math, attention, memory, directionality, and motor coordination. Each person is unique because disabilities can appear in different combinations and vary in degree from mild to severe. In fact, everyone experiences learning problems of some kind. It is only when the learning difficulties interfere with a person's quality of life that the difficulties become disabilities. While some children and adolescents with learning disabilities receive help during their school years, most are never diagnosed. Some of these individuals drop out of school; others struggle through and manage to receive their high school diploma. Medical and educational authorities now know that learning disabilities are not outgrown. Children with learning disabilities become adults with the same disabilities. Those who were not helped educationally during their school years now find themselves functionally illiterate. They are reaching out, exposing themselves, to give learning another try, and that takes courage.