3.2 Identify the significant differences between global and specific learning difficulties

This guide will help you answer 3.2 Identify the significant differences between global and specific learning difficulties.

Knowing the differences between global and specific learning difficulties is important for anyone working to support learners in schools. While both types affect learning, they do so in different ways and require different approaches. This guide covers each type and their impact in an educational setting.

What Are Global Learning Difficulties?

Global learning difficulties affect many areas of learning and development. They involve a generalised delay in cognitive function and impact intelligence across a wide range of skills.

People with global learning difficulties often have below-average intellectual ability. This affects language, numeracy, memory, reasoning, problem-solving, and social understanding. These difficulties are usually lifelong and present from birth or early childhood.

In educational settings, global learning difficulties can mean a child struggles with most aspects of the curriculum. They may need extra support in basic daily living skills and social communication.

Common causes include:

• Genetic conditions such as Down’s syndrome
• Complications during pregnancy or birth
• Early injury to the brain
• Serious childhood illness

Signs can include:

• Delay in reaching developmental milestones
• Struggles with most school subjects rather than just one
• Difficulty following complex instructions
• Problems with social awareness and relationships

Support for global learning difficulties often involves an Individual Education Plan (IEP), with targets across multiple areas of learning and life skills.

What Are Specific Learning Difficulties?

Specific learning difficulties are different. They affect particular areas of learning but do not impact overall intelligence. A learner might be strong in other subjects, but have a clear difficulty in one area.

For example, a child with dyslexia can be intelligent, creative, and good at oral communication, yet struggle with reading, spelling, and sometimes writing. The difficulty is isolated to certain skills.

Types of specific learning difficulties include:

• Dyslexia – affects reading, writing, and spelling
• Dyscalculia – affects understanding of numbers and mathematical concepts
• Dysgraphia – affects writing skills and handwriting
• Dyspraxia – affects motor coordination and organisation skills
• Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) – affects how the brain processes sounds

Specific learning difficulties can vary in severity from mild to severe. They may be diagnosed in childhood but sometimes only become obvious when school demands increase.

Differences Between Global and Specific Learning Difficulties

The main differences between the two can be summarised as follows:

• Area of Impact – Global difficulties affect a wide range of intellectual and developmental areas. Specific difficulties impact a particular skill area but leave other abilities intact.
• Intellectual Ability – Global difficulties usually mean the person has a lower overall IQ. Specific difficulties often occur in people with average or above-average IQ.
• Support Strategies – Support for global difficulties often needs to cover multiple skill areas. Support for specific difficulties is targeted, such as using phonics-based programmes for dyslexia.
• Progress and Independence – Learners with global difficulties often need lifelong support in education and daily life. People with specific difficulties can often develop coping strategies and may achieve independence in most areas.
• Underlying Cause – Global difficulties often result from conditions affecting brain development as a whole. Specific difficulties are often linked to how the brain processes certain types of information.

Examples in the Classroom

Global Learning Difficulty Example

A pupil with Down’s syndrome may work at a much lower academic level in all subjects. Tasks may need simplifying, instructions repeated, and practical support given for daily routines. The same pupil could struggle with reading, maths, writing, and social understanding. Support will include speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and one-to-one teaching in multiple subjects.

Specific Learning Difficulty Example

A pupil with dyscalculia may be strong in literacy and creative work but struggle with basic number concepts. They might understand history or science well but have difficulty performing calculations, telling time, or managing money. The rest of their learning may progress at an expected rate for their age.

Educational Impact

Impact of Global Learning Difficulties

• Wider delays mean progress is slower across the curriculum
• Learners may need adapted resources in almost every lesson
• Assessment must focus on small, achievable targets
• Emotional and social development often needs direct teaching
• Peer relationships can be challenging if they struggle with communication

Impact of Specific Learning Difficulties

• The learner may excel in other areas, which can help keep confidence high
• Support needs to target the specific skill area
• Teaching strategies can build on strengths in unaffected areas
• Frustration can occur if the difficulty is misunderstood by staff or peers

Assessment Considerations

When assessing learning difficulties, it is important to understand the scope. For global difficulties, assessment covers many areas including social, emotional, physical, and academic development. For specific difficulties, assessments focus on the skill area affected.

For example:

• Global: A cognitive assessment showing delays across language, memory, reasoning, and numeracy
• Specific: Diagnostic tests to identify processing difficulties in reading, spelling, or number work

Educational Psychologists often play an important role in diagnosis. Health professionals may be involved for global difficulties, especially if they are linked to genetic or medical conditions.

Support Approaches

Supporting Global Learning Difficulties

• Use multi-sensory teaching methods
• Break tasks into small, clear steps
• Provide repetition and reinforcement
• Focus on life skills alongside academic learning
• Adapt the curriculum to suit developmental stage
• Provide speech and language therapy or occupational therapy as needed
• Maintain strong communication with parents or carers

Supporting Specific Learning Difficulties

• Provide targeted interventions such as phonics for dyslexia
• Use assistive technology, for example text-to-speech software
• Allow extra time for reading or written tasks
• Give alternative ways to record information such as audio recordings
• Focus on the learner’s strengths in other subjects
• Train staff to understand the nature of the specific difficulty

Importance of Understanding the Differences

Knowing the difference between global and specific learning difficulties helps in setting realistic expectations. It ensures that support is properly planned and delivered. Without this understanding, a learner could receive inappropriate support or have their needs misunderstood.

A child with a specific difficulty should not be treated as having a generalised low ability. This could damage their confidence. A child with a global difficulty should not be pressured to keep pace with age expectations across all subjects without adaptation.

Inclusion in mainstream settings works best when staff know how these differences affect teaching, learning, and behaviour.

Role of the Teaching Assistant or Support Worker

As a support worker, your role is to spot patterns in a learner’s abilities. You might notice that a pupil with a specific difficulty excels in spoken work but avoids reading tasks. This could be a sign of dyslexia.

For a pupil with global difficulties, you may see delays across many skills. You may need to support them in transitions between lessons, help with personal care, and adapt almost all academic tasks.

Keeping clear records and working closely with the class teacher helps to create effective support plans.

Challenges Faced by Learners

Learners with Global Difficulties

• May feel isolated if curriculum content is far beyond their ability
• Can tire quickly with cognitive tasks
• May struggle to communicate needs clearly
• Risk of low self-esteem

Learners with Specific Difficulties

• May feel embarrassed about one area of weakness
• Risk of being seen as lazy or less able if the difficulty is not recognised
• Can become anxious during tasks related to their difficulty

In both cases, patience, encouragement, and recognition of strengths are important.

Final Thoughts

Global and specific learning difficulties affect learners in very different ways. Global learning difficulties impact many areas of development and often require broad, long-term support. Specific learning difficulties are focused on particular skill areas and need targeted interventions. Understanding this difference makes a big difference in education.

Supporting each learner means recognising their unique profile of strengths and challenges. Good support uses this knowledge to remove barriers, increase participation, and build confidence. Careful observation, collaboration with professionals, and communication with families make support far more effective.