What Is Not A Learning Disability

Here are some comments I hear about people who think they have a learning disability.

"I make spelling errors."

In Israel most students with spelling errors get an exemption from having to spell correctly via an evaluation. The exemptions are given based on small criteria, such as poor short term memory, a lower score on a perception test, or something else. Not so for the testing boards. If you have a DSM IV related disability which results in spelling errors, some testing boards will give you a device for checking your spelling (a spell checker). You will not, however, be exempted from having to spell. At the same time, some testing boards will not reduce your score significantly because of minor spelling errors.

"I believe I have higher potential, and extended time will enable me to fulfill that potential."

Extended time is the most requested accommodation for standardized and other tests. But your feeling that your ability to fulfill your potential depends on your having more time than anyone else to finish the test does not qualify as a learning disability. Before you ask for accommodations, you must demonstrate two things:

1)	That you have a diagnosed disability related to reading, writing or math, concentration deficits, anxiety, depression, or other psychiatric or medical problem.
2)	That your diagnosed disability impairs your functioning on tests and in everyday life.

If you can provide evidence that supports both these conditions, then you may apply for accommodations. There still is no guarantee your request will be granted.

"I don’t write well in English."

If you have trouble expressing yourself when writing in English, but your written expression in Hebrew (or another mother tongue) is good, you probably don't have a learning disability. You must study and learn the rules of written English.

"My GMAT scores are good enough for Columbia but not Harvard. I need extra time."

I hear this often, sometimes with different names substituted with the schools. Be honest with yourself: if you got into Columbia or any other respectable US university, you don't have a learning disability.

"What kind of a story can we make up so that I can get extra time?"

Yes, people have asked me this. Testing boards are neither stupid nor naïve. You must make a clear and convincing case that you have a problem and provide empirical evidence to support what you say.

A related question I get is, "Can test results be faked?" The answer is yes. However, an experienced evaluator can spot the signs of what the profession calls malingering and symptom exaggeration.

Nevertheless, the results of one test or another will neither determine a diagnosis nor ensure that you will get accommodations.