**1. Introduction**

In Malaysia, children at the age of 6 or 7 will start their formal primary education. The curriculum in Malaysian primary education commences with the teaching and learning of basic literacy skills such as spelling, reading, writing and calculating. However, if the children at this appropriate education stage struggle and face significant difficulties with these fundamental basic learning skills and show below than expected academic achievement, they might be at risk of problems related to learning disabilities [1–3]. According to the 2011 World Report on Disability, it is estimated that about 5% of the 9 million population of children aged 0–14 years live with some form of disabilities that hinder their full functioning in society including learning disabilities [4]. In Malaysia, learning disabilities represent one of the qualified categories of impairments for registering people with disabilities, according to the government's Department of Social Welfare. The registration enables those with disabilities to

receive support and services provided by the government and government-linked agencies. To date, as reported in Ref. [3], about 38.7% of the registered persons with disabilities in Malaysia are those with learning disabilities. However, the accurate statistics of children with learning disabilities remain under-reported as there is still a lack of up-to-date prevalence data on children with learning disabilities [5].

Learning disabilities have been identified as one form of impairment or disability globally. The term was first coined by Dr. Samuel Kirk in 1962 to refer to individuals who have poor academic achievement despite being physically normal like that of typical students [3, 6]. According to The United States National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD) [7], the term "learning disability" is defined as: "A heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning or mathematical abilities". From this definition, it can be deduced that the term "learning disabilities" is frequently used to refer to multiple problems or disorders rather than just one. Instead, the phrase refers to a range of problems with a variety of underlying causes and symptoms that are thought to be caused by a person's cognitive system malfunctioning, which results in problems with perception, remembering or thinking. According to a report by the National Center for Learning Disabilities [8], children with learning disabilities have multiple difficulties in some skill areas that are essential for learning, such as reading, writing, listening and comprehension skills. From a cognitive point of view, learning relies substantially on cognitive abilities. Hence, impairment in one's cognitive functioning can harm the ability to develop verbal and non-verbal literacy skills involved in acquiring, organizing, retaining, processing and understanding environmental inputs, all of which are fundamental for learning [9].

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM 5) categorized learning disability under neurodevelopmental disorders. According to DSM 5, neurodevelopmental disorders are a group of deficits that are biological and manifest early in the developmental period. This disorder group is characterized by impairments or deficits affecting normal developmental processes such as delay in personal, social, academic or occupational functioning. In academic, those with learning disabilities face constant difficulty in learning and dealing with basic academic skills related to listening, spelling, speaking, reading, understanding and mathematical reasoning [10], all of which impairs their full functioning in school and result in lower-than-expected academic performance.

Learning disabilities are to be distinguished from intellectual disabilities and any other achievement-related difficulties such as sensory disorders, emotional or behavioral disturbances as well as the environmental causes of underachievement including economic disadvantage and minority language status [9]. Learning disabilities and intellectual disabilities can present challenges and limit the individuals' full functioning in many aspects of daily life including academics. However, those with learning disabilities typically have average to above-average intellectual abilities, measured by their intelligent quotient (IQ ). In contrast, the IQ of those with intellectual disabilities is 70 and below, below average normal intellectual functioning. Intellectual disabilities, formerly known as mental retardation, affect a person's overall cognitive abilities and have a pervasive impact on various essential aspects of an individual's life including communication, self-care, social skills and overall adaptive functioning necessary for daily life. On the other hand, learning disabilities present specific challenges and difficulties to specific or multiple areas of learning while other skills remain intact. This means children with

*Children with Learning Disabilities in Malaysia DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.113230*

dyslexia, a type of learning disability affecting reading skills, might struggle with reading, but they are excellent in arts and have no trouble with social skills or other adaptive behavior.

Typically, those with learning disabilities do not have additional severe impairments such as Cerebral Palsy or Down Syndrome. There are also cases in which a child can have more than one kind of learning disability; this condition is called comorbidity or co-occurrence of learning disabilities [11]. Hence, a child with dyslexia can suffer from Attention-Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and show crucial attention-related problems. Children who have communication and social relationship issues such as Autism Spectrum Disorder may also experience specific learning disorder that is neurological in origin, such as dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia. This is in accordance with the report by the National Association of Special Education Teachers [12] that states that individuals with learning disabilities are diverse and may exhibit potential difficulties in many different areas. For example, a child with a learning disability may experience significant reading problems, while another may experience no reading problems but has considerable difficulties with written expression. This means learning disabilities differ from person to person and can be mild, moderate or severe. Some children with mild learning disabilities may be considered educable and high-functioning in nature. Despite various definitions and classifications of disabilities, learning disabilities have always begun in childhood and are a life-long condition. These learning challenges, if left unidentified, could lead to persistent learning problems that put children at a significant disadvantage and prevent them from achieving their full learning potential [1].
