Mental Health

Learning Disabilities - Causes

What are the causes of learning disabilities?

Mental health professionals stress that a specific cause of learning disabilities is unknown, and there are too many possibilities to establish a cause with certainty.

Once thought to be caused by a single neurological problem, researchers now say that the causes are more diverse and complex. According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, new evidence seems to show that most learning disabilities do not start in a single, specific area of the brain, but from difficulties in bringing together information from various brain regions.

A leading theory is that learning disabilities stem from subtle disturbances in brain structures and functions that may begin before birth. Other possibilities include:

genetic predisposition

tobacco, alcohol or substance abuse by the mother prior to, during, and after pregnancy

problems during pregnancy or delivery

environment -- both emotional and physical

This page was last updated on: February 5, 2008.

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